Red Bull X-Alps

The Red Bull X-Alps is a paragliding adventure race in which athletes hike or fly roughly 1,200 km across the Alps. It first launched in 2003 and has taken place every other year, with around 30 athletes navigating a predetermined set of turn points that vary with each race. Every kilometre must be covered either on foot or by paraglider, so athletes either hike carrying their wing or fly, carried by it. Each team is one athlete plus an official supporter who gives strategic advice, weather reports and psychological and nutritional support. The idea came from the Austrian pilot Hannes Arch, who developed it with Red Bull after seeing a documentary about a German pilot crossing the Alps by paraglider. Early editions ran from Austria to Monaco, while the 2021, 2023 and 2025 editions follow circular or figure-of-eight routes finishing in Zell am See, Austria. The race is often credited with kick-starting hike and fly as a paragliding discipline of its own.