7 years ago (2017-01-23 19:09:43) :
     Francisco Mantaras summed today up in one word 'Perfect'.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:51:56) :
      What a colourful sight in goal. There is hardly a hand without a beer can in it. everyone chatting, telling stories, looking up at the sky.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:49:21) :
      Laurie Genovese has just landed in goal, first lady and 8th over all.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:47:04) :
      Torsten hasn't stopped grinning since he got to goal.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:46:14) :
      Julien Wirtz was so so pleased to get here before the youngsters today.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:45:24) :
      Honorin really liked the stronger conditions today.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:44:15) :
      Even after half an hour in goal Brazilian Samuel Nascimento still hasn't stopped saying 'yeah'

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:42:19) :
      For Semih Sayer goal was paradise to land in compared to where he landed yesterday.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:21:42) :
      Tropical tunes are pumping out of the party tent competing with the tracker sirens.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:20:08) :
      There is what can only be described as a cloud of paragliders descending on the goal field.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:18:27) :
      There are gliders landing on every square centimetre of the very worn our grass in the goal field at the moment.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:11:35) :
      Semih Sayer and Miguel Diaz Ruiz have just landed in goal.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:09:32) :
      Julien Wirtz has just landed well ahead of his 3 prot g in the comp.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:07:30) :
      World and European Champ Honorin has just landed in goal.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:06:34) :
      Brazilian task winner Samuel Nascimento has just landed in goal. The crowd have gone absolutely wild, cheers whistles, car horns.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:04:04) :
      There is a massive gaggle of gliders coming back over goal in GV

7 years ago (2017-01-23 18:02:58) :
      Next past end of speed Xavier Barricarte, Jose Sudbrack, Patrick Von Kaenel, Francisco Mantaras

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:58:52) :
      The big white statue of Saint Nossa has the words No Tracker No Caipirinha on her lips this time as they all fly past.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:55:40) :
      Top 3 so far Nasciemento, Honorin and Julien Wirtz.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:49:47) :
     The first two pilots Samuel Nascimento and Honorin Hamard have made the End of Speed section absolutely neck and neck and the rest of the field are approaching the goal - its going to be busy in the goal field today

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:25:49) :
     They are now going back north and will face the tricky end of speed section which caused Tim Bollinger problems a few days ago.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:24:01) :
     In the few seconds that it took me to write that last post 105 pilots who are right behind Louis also got the turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:22:46) :
     Louis Gerin-jean has just got the turn point first. I can hear his Mum and Dad Francois and Valu cheering him on in freezing cold St Andre on the other side of the planet.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:19:09) :
     It looks as if Louis Gerin-jean and Samuel Nascimento's route and strategy has worked best and that they are going to get the turn point first.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:14:05) :
     The gaggle seem to be doing better than the two out on their own. It is much more efficient flying in a gaggle than on your own which is what makes it so difficult to break away and go faster than the lead gaggle, to win a task.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:10:03) :
     This part of the course is covered in thick cirrus which is bound to slow them down.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:06:16) :
     Tim Bollinger is leading a group to the west.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:05:26) :
     The race south has divided into 2 groups Samuel Nascimento and Louis Gerin-jean off to the east and about 1.5 km ahead.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 17:00:33) :
     It's good to see Louis Gerin-jean at the front today, one of the 2 Son's of Aerogliss (the famous paragliding school in the South of France, host to one of our PWC's last year).

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:58:58) :
     Laurie Genovese is leading lady at the moment. As Benedicte Saury agreed with me on launch today, the women in this competition are all very close, the genuine friendship between them is obvious and that they have a big respect for each other. Well done ladies.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:56:06) :
     European champion Honorin Hamard is right at the front today, after a long walk out yesterday he deserves to get to goal.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:55:08) :
     They are now flying south to the last turn point over green rolling hills with trees and very tall grass. Lets hope petite Nao Takada doesn't land out - we would never find her in all that 2m high grass.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:50:23) :
     I'm sure I can see the 24m high white statue at the end of take-off waving to them, but then maybe that's just my eye sight. %D%AThe statue is of the Brazilian saint Nossa Senhora das Gracas. Not many paragliding sites around the world can boast a statue of their very own paragliding saint.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:47:41) :
     They are all going past the east end of take-off just now. With Tim Bollinger, Maxime Pinot and Martin Rebord in the lead.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:45:56) :
     The gliders can be clearly seen in the sky to the east of GV. The sky is blue patched with white clouds and a whole line of colourful little paragliders, one after another after another. The sight is absolutely wonderful, spectacular.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:43:40) :
     The lead gaggle have now all got the third turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:29:56) :
     They are now all coming in a straight line back over Governador Valadares. Turn point 4 is just to keep them out of the city's air space then they continue south to turn point 4.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:27:44) :
     Three of the competition's top pilots have unfortunately already landed.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:26:10) :
     The top 60 have made the second turn point, they are so close together.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:25:20) :
     Manuel Quintanilla, Maxime Pinot, Clement Latour, Oguzkan Sadeer and Torsten Siegel have made the second turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:21:14) :
     Leaders Tim Bollinger, Manuel Quintanilla and Maxime Pinot are about to get the second turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:10:17) :
     Well, if they were all on line it would make the live tracking easier to read.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:09:28) :
     The top 90 pilots have all got the first turn point and are now heading west which should make the live tracking a bit easier to read.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 16:05:27) :
     Today's task is very difficult to follow as the leaders cross those in the gaggles behind. as they fly west to get the second turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:55:47) :
     At the moment the sky still has a lot of blue in it, but south of GV there is quite a bit of cirrus and quite a lot of black smoke - Monday is obviously the day you burn your old tyres here.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:48:17) :
     The leaders Maxime Pinot, Marc Wensauer and Tim Bollinger are passing the rest of the field as they fly back west to turn point 2 at Governador Valadares. This is a very fast race today.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:39:21) :
     Leaders Maxime Pinot, Manuel Quintanilla, Felix Rodriguez Fernandez, Marc Wensauer, Bjornar Trondsen have got the first turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:35:46) :
     Today is once again very fast. Maxime Pinot, Xevi Bonet Dalmau and acro champion Felix Rodriguez Fernandez are about to get the first turn point.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:19:16) :
     The leaders have got a very fast start and are halfway to turn point 1 already. Honorin Hamard is out on his own having taken a route further north.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:08:45) :
      The other half are eating as little as possible so that they won't be too heavy on their wings.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:07:28) :
      Diet wise half the pilots seem to be eating as much as possible at breakfast so they won't get hungry in the air.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:05:20) :
      It' important to be in good shape physically for such a long endurance race like the Super Final.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 15:01:58) :
      The start is now open.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:57:32) :
     The gliders are a colourful swarm of little dots high up in the sky about to take the start.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:46:28) :
      Let's see how they both get on today

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:44:28) :
      Armant found it was very manoeuvrable.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:44:08) :
      In closely packed gaggles the Zeno was good because pilots like Luc

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:34:12) :
      Virtually all the pilots are now high and well established in a thermal near the start

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:24:38) :
      Most pilots are off. The last to go are pretty low over the hill to the east of launch but there is a nice thermal full of gliders right in front of them

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:20:49) :
      Moonseob Lim is getting ready to take off and keen to see how his Boomerang 11 will get on in today's weak conditions.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:15:35) :
      Marc Wensauer is about to take off and looking a lot happier than yesterday. This should be do able he told me.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:08:36) :
      Guy Anderson is looking forward to flying a fun task with less cloud to complicate things. Today will be a question of who is the boldest.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:06:32) :
      Julien Wirtz and Petra Slivova told me they are worried about end of speed and getting stuck around the quarry like Tim Bollinger on day 4.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:03:22) :
      The window is open. No rush to take off. There is zero wind. Gliders are once again laid out on both sides of launch.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 14:00:32) :
      Start opens in 2 mins. All you can hear on launch is the russel of new gliders and a loud beat of somber music in the background.

7 years ago (2017-01-23 13:58:52) :
      Today's task is 93 kms around GV. The start is a big cylinder to the east of take-off then continue east then west then south then back north to GV.