*Spanish pilot Xevi Bonet Dalmau seizes initiative after second task*

*Spanish pilot Xevi Bonet Dalmau seizes initiative after second task*

*Vidic, Pinot and Wirtz slip down on a tough day*

Vijyender Sharma

*Bir Billing, October 28: * A low hanging cloud base, weak thermals and
unpredictable winds made for extremely challenging conditions for the
pilots taking part in the AAI Paragliding World Cup here on Wednesday.

Of the 117 pilots who took to the skies for the day's task of 75.58km,
which included three cylindrical manoeuvres, only 31 pilots managed to
achieve 100 percent goal to return to the Bir landing site. It's was an
especially brutal day for the Indian participants as none of the eight
pilots managed to complete the task. "Today's task was tough and the
conditions made it even more challenging. It was a World Cup-level task
that separated the boys from the men," said meet director, Debu Choudhury.


As a result, the combination of a tough task and demanding conditions
played havoc with the leaderboard. Overnight leader, Maxime Pinot (974
points) from France finished down the order in 11th place. In his place,
the day's honours were clinched by Michael Kuffer of Switzerland and Xevi
Bonet Dalmau from Spain. Both completed the task with an identical time of
2hr: 41min:02sec. Andreas Malecki from Germany finished the day in third
place with a total of 912 points. Other big names such as Jurij Vidic and
Julien Wirtz too were stung by the flying conditions. Writz completed the
completed the task in 12th place, while Vidic ended his day further two
places down in 14th.

Bonet Dalmau, improved upon his overnight third place to move to the top of
the leaderboard with a neat haul of 1000 points. Bonet Dalmau finished
second in the world cup in Eager. Kuffer's, who was placed ninth overnight
with 952 points, moved up the leaderboard with 996 points into second place
following his sterling performance in completing the second task of this
world cup. Kuffer best performance this year was a third place finished the
World Cup held at Desentis in Switzerland.

For the Indian contingent it was quite a forgettable day. Like most of the
field, they failed to find adequate lift after a manoeuvre around a natural
feature called the Big Face and were forced to land. Most of the pilots
threw in the towel between 33-35km mark of the day's task. "The wind around
the Big Face feature was very unpredictable and I couldn't find any lift.
Those who managed to gain altitude over there rapidly managed to complete
the task. It was like a big trap," said India's Budh Ram.

Among the women, Yuki Sato (716 points), Petra Slivova (548 points) and
Annalena Hinestroza (278 points) completed the top three. But Sato was the
only women pilot who managed to complete the day's task.

 *Provisional Results:*

Men:*

1.     Xevi Bonet Dalmau (ESP) – 1,000 points

2.     Michael Küffer (CHE) – 996

3.     Andreas Malecki (DEU) – 912 points

4.     Richard Butterworth (GBR) – 908 points

5.     Emile Van Wyk (GBR) – 889 points

*Women*

1.     Yuki Sato (JPN) 716 points

2.     Petra Slivova (CZE) 548 points

3.     Annalena Hinestroza (DEU) 278 points



*About Billing Paragliding Association*

*The Billing Paragliding Association formed in 2006 had successfully
organised the Pre-World Cup of Paragliding at the same venue in 2013 to
test the waters with extremely encouraging results and great response,
which paved the way for the World Cup to be brought here.*

* The BPA is the only organization recognised by Aero Club of India, which
in turn is the only body recognised by Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI), the governing world body for air sports, and the
Paragliding World Cup Association (PWCA). The FAI was formed in 1905.*

* As a competitive sport, Paragliding has already featured in some Games
like the South-East Asian Games and the Asian Beach Games. Paragliding was
also short-listed in the initial list of new events for the 2020 Olympics,
but will now be considered for the 2024 Olympic Games.*

* About Bir Billing*

* Bir Billing is considered the second best paragliding spot in the world
and steps have been taken to develop infrastructure of international
standards for the championship. The take-off and landing areas are being
completely redone, and state-of-the-art facilities are being built for the
paragliders, officials and spectators alike.*

*About Airports Authority of India*

*The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the Title Sponsors and will
actively promote the sport and the event through various avenues and
platforms to be announced soon. The AAI has also taken up the task of
promoting Adventure Sports and help build an additional avenue for Tourism.*

* About 130 of the best paragliders, including those in World's Top-5, from
over 40 countries are set to participate in the championship, which will
put India firmly on the global paragliding map.*

* During the week-long tournament, the edge of competitive sport during the
day will give way for some fun and frolic in the evenings, with
specially-themed programmes being planned for each evening. The gala
opening and the closing ceremonies promise to be extravaganzas, adding
their own colour to the World Cup.*
*Picture 1: Spanish pilot Xevi Bonet Dalmau seizes initiative after second
task*