X-Alps: The adventure begins for Durogati and Großrubatscher

Under the watchful eye of the statue of Mozart, the city's most famous resident, a field of 29 athletes from 15 countries ran through the city's streets on the first leg of a 12-day journey around the Alps. Among them are Aaron Durogati from Merano and Tobias Großrubatscher from Castelrotto, who have already taken part in the extreme competition several times in the past.

Their first destination was the 1.288 meter high peak of the Gaisberg, which towers over the city. But the actual destination is the mountain town of Zell am See. To get there, they must hike, run and fly 1.238km to Mont Blanc in France and return via 12 turnaround points in five countries.

There was great excitement as the athletes made their way through the historic streets of Salzburg in bright sunshine. From Mozartplatz they stormed through the old town, crossed the Salzach and began the first of many challenging climbs on foot. A 20-year-old storms away from the front In just over an hour, 20-year-old Austrian rookie Thomas Friedrich was the first to reach the summit of the Gaisberg. Michal Gierlach (Poland) came second, while Maxime Pinot (France) took third place. Großrubatscher and Durogati are currently in the top midfield of the rankings.

When the athletes arrived there were winds of over 40 km/h, making flying impossible as the safe limit is 30 km/h. But when the wind died down, race director Christoph Weber gave the green light, and the athletes wasted no time, strapped on their wings and took off.

After this first turnpoint, your next destination is Wagrain-Kleinarl, 65km south. From there they head west to Kitzbühel, where they have to sign a plaque at the summit of the famous Hahnenkamm.

Ulrich Grill, founder and organizer of the race, said: “After everything that has happened around the world over the last 18 months, we are delighted to be able to host this race and show that top sporting events can take place in safe conditions. We worked very hard to make this possible. This year is special, it is the 10th edition of the race, which was launched in 2003. We have a new route, it's the longest ever and the hardest. It will be an incredible adventure for all the athletes taking part and I wish them a safe and successful race.”

The range of athletes ranges from 61-year-old Japanese Kaoru Ogisawa, who is competing for the sixth time, to 20-year-old Friedrich, who as a rookie took third place in the one-day prologue in Wagrain-Kleinarl on Thursday. However, all eyes are on six-time champion Christian Maurer, who is hoping for a seventh win in a row - and on Frenchman Maxime Pinot, 29, who wants to break that dominance.

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X-Alps: The adventure begins for Durogati and Großrubatscher

The starting signal for the toughest adventure race in the world, the Red Bull X-Alps, was fired at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in the center of Salzburg.

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