Adventure Racing
Red Bull X-Alps – The world's toughest adventure race
Open to the world’s best paraglider pilots and adventure athletes, but uniquely it is a race where men and women compete equally.
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Race 2025 Hot Facts
What
When
Where
Who
1,283km long, featuring 16 Turnpoints
Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy
June 12, 2025, 11am
Dorfplatz 1, Kirchberg, Austria
Race start
June 15, 2025, 11.30am
Schulpark, Kitzbühel, Austria
33 athletes
Race finish
June 27, 2025
Zell am See, Austria
21 athletes
June 22, 2025
Zell am See, Austria
Red Bull X-Alps 2025 started on June 15 and ended on June 27. There were 33 athletes from 17 countries taking part, all ready to take on the world’s toughest adventure race. At 1,283km the 2025 route was longer than ever, it features 16 Turnpoints across five countries.
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Race 2025 Documentary
Battle of legends - The new Red Bull X-Alps 2025 Documentary
© zooom
This year’s Red Bull X-Alps stretched to 1,283km – the longest route in the race’s history, pushing the limits of adventure racing further than ever before. In 2025, 32 male and 1 female athlete set out to hike and fly their way across the Alps by foot and paraglider, fighting for a place on the podium of the world’s toughest adventure race.
That journey is captured in the official documentary 'Red Bull X-Alps 2025: Battle of legends', available to watch for free on YouTube.
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Spirit of Adventure
Red Bull X-Alps is the world’s toughest adventure race. It’s a fiercely contested battle across the Alps lasting almost two weeks in which around 35 athletes run, hike and fly by paraglider up to 150km a day passing set Turnpoints positioned across the highest and most iconic mountains of the Alps as well as in famous resorts. With athletes often hiking up to 4,000m of vertical ascent each day and running as much as 100km on foot, it’s not only an incredible test of physical endurance but also of flying skill.
Red Bull X-Alps is only open to the world’s best paraglider pilots and adventure athletes, but uniquely it is a race where men and women compete equally. Red Bull X-Alps was founded in 2003 by the late adventurer Hannes Arch and Ulrich Grill, race organizer, and has taken place every two years since then. For 20 years, the race had always been won by Swiss athletes, led by Christian “Chrigel” Maurer, as who claimed eight victories. This made the 2025 edition particularly memorable, as Italy’s Aaron Durogati emerged victorious after a fierce battle to the finish.
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The Concept: From Dawn till Dusk
Every edition of Red Bull X-Alps features a different route over the Alps that crosses remote mountain chains and valleys and passes famous resorts and peaks. Traditionally the race began in Salzburg, Austria and finished in Monaco. However, for the 10th edition of the race in 2021, organizers updated the format to create an out-and-back route from Salzburg to Mont Blanc and back to Zell am See, Austria via 12 Turnpoints in five countries.
Athletes race from 4am to 11pm but they can only fly during daylight hours between 6am to 9pm. Overnight, a mandatory rest period is in place and athletes cannot move from their location. However, each athlete is equipped with a Night Pass, which allows them to break the curfew once. This can help to gain a strategic advantage, but it comes at the cost of additional fatigue. From day four and every 48 hours thereafter, the athlete in last place is eliminated.
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Competitors: Champions and Challengers
The line-up of the Red Bull X-Alps is always a global mix of veterans and rookies and between male and female athletes. Every edition from 2009 to 2023 has been won by the Swiss athlete Christian Maurer or ‘Chrigel the Eagle’ as he has become known to the race’s legion of fans and followers. This made the 2025 edition particularly memorable, as Italy’s Aaron Durogati emerged victorious after a fierce battle to the finish.
With the sheer number of variables, from the weather to route decisions, Red Bull X-Alps is a race where anything can – and frequently does happen. Every athlete has an official supporter to provide strategic help, weather and route advice, and physical and psychological care, making this truly a team race.
Related
Lars Meerstetter (SUI4) during the via ferrata in the Dolomites, Italy
© zooom / Maximilian Gierl
Aaron Durogati (ITA1) launching on Day 8 of Red Bull X-Alps 2025
© zooom / Maximilian Gierl
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Red Bull X-Alps 2025: Results
Aaron Durogati (ITA1) is the new champion of the world’s toughest adventure race, having reached the goal after giving it his all for 7 days, 8 hours, 31 minutes, and 33 seconds. Lars Meerstetter (SUI4), Simon Oberrauner (AUT1), and Christian Maurer (SUI1) soon followed. See the full results:
Results 2025
Rank
Athlete
Team
Duration
Finishing Time / Distance to Goal
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Race Committee
Ever wondered where decisions are getting done? The Red Bull X-Alps race committee is where all the big calls are being made, from athlete selection to deciding the route, from race rules to the day-to-day running of the event.
Related
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Route
At 1,283km the 2025 route is the longest one to date. It features 16 mandatory Turnpoints in five countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The race starts in Kitzbühel and ends in Zell am See, Austria. For the first time ever there is an X-Turnpoint, located in the Swiss resort St. Moritz, which athletes have to pass twice, adding an extra challenge. The main race is preceded by a one-day Prologue, which takes place on June 12 in Kirchberg, Austria.
Related
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Live Tracking
Red Bull X-Alps is a race tailor made for online followers. At the heart of the adventure lies Live Tracking, which allows fans to follow their favorite athletes in real time thanks to advanced GPS trackers – and even join them in the cockpit for a POV view.
Fans can watch the race unfold in real time and see whether an athlete is hiking or flying, explore their tracks and analyze other metrics such as speed, altitude, distance-to-go and more.
2 min
This is Red Bull X-Alps Live Tracking
Everything you need to know about the Live Tracking
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Rules
Red Bull X-Alps is a challenging race. To keep it as safe as possible there are certain rules every athlete has to follow. They also make sure that it’s a fair race and all athletes compete equally.
Related
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FAQs
Is it really the world’s toughest adventure race? Can anyone take part? What sport disciplines are included? Check out our FAQs if you want to know more about Red Bull X-Alps and find the answers to your questions!
