Andy Frötscher starts at X-Alps - VIDEO

When the term “Red Bull X-Alps” is mentioned in South Tyrol, one immediately thinks of Andy Frötscher. No wonder, the 42-year-old Rittner has always been at the start since the first crossing of the Alps - as the only one alongside the Romanian Toma Coconea. In the fifth edition, 31 of the world's best paragliders want to cross the Alps. “For me, the fascination of this race is the combination of endurance sports and paragliding, which you don’t get in any other race. “The X-Alps is also an exclusive event that only a few can take part in,” says Andy Frötscher exclusive zu SportNews.bz .

The extreme athletes have to cover 860 kilometers by paraglider or on foot. The start is in the old town of Salzburg and the finish is in the port of Monaco. In between, eight so-called “turnpoints” must be passed – the Gaisberg, the Dachstein, the Großglockner, the Drei Zinnen, the Piz Palü, the Matterhorn, the Mont Blanc and the Mont Gros – as quickly as possible. Each participant can divide their stages as they wish. The race runs virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

At the last X-Alps two years ago, the Swiss Chrigel Maurer took victory and needed less than ten days to cross the Alps. Maurer's compatriot Alex Hofer had previously won the 2007 and 2005 editions. And in 2003, at the premiere, Kaspar Henny, a Swiss national, was the first to reach the finish line.

Finally landing in Monaco - that is Frötscher's big goal Once the winner reaches the finish, the remaining participants have 48 hours to complete the competition as well. After this limit, the “Red Bull X-Alps” is history. Finishing for the first time is Andy Frötscher's dream.

“I finally want to land in Monaco. “But I can only do that if I make as few wrong decisions as possible along the way,” says Frötscher, revealing his goals for his fifth participation. “Two years ago, a tactical error cost me third place when I wanted to fly to Lake Como via the southern route. The wind was too strong on the Schwemmalm, I could have flown over the lye side. I lost valuable hours and kilometers there.”

Andy Frötscher will also be accompanied this year by Robert Mur, his neighbor. “I have known Robert for 20 years. He lives just two streets away and they spend a lot of time together. We go flying together almost every weekend. For me he is the perfect companion because he takes the sport very seriously. He just needs to learn how to cook,” laughs the Ritten teacher, who hopes that he and the other 30 X-Alps participants finish the race healthy. “It is not a given that you finish this race healthy. A minor injury can knock you out of the race straight away.”

Frötscher got the fitness he needed for the Red Bull Whether Frötscher has trained sufficiently will become clear from July 17th at the latest, when the starting signal goes off in the city of Mozart...

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Andy Frötscher starts at X-Alps - VIDEO

When the starting signal for the “Red Bull The Rittner has taken part in all five editions of this extreme sports event - and this year he is also keen on the most spectacular crossing of the Alps.

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