Paragliding
Sleep where you can, when you can
When it comes to resting in Red Bull X-Alps 2025, the rule is simple – sleep wherever and whenever you can.
Related
There are no hotels, no fixed checkpoints with beds, and no guarantees. Sometimes, this means bivouacking high in the mountains, rolled up in a sleeping bag under a sky full of stars. Other times, it’s taking refuge in a rustic hut, a cow shed, or, like in the 2023 race, even a public toilet. "I had no battery, no signal, and the weather was closing in. Then I saw this new toilet — it was warm, dry, and honestly perfect at the time," laughed Swiss athlete Patrick Von Känel (SUI2) after one particularly wild night near Chamonix.
In this year's edition, athletes have already slept in various special places. Especially the end of the first day forced many athletes to shelter from the storm high up on the mountain near Turnpoint 3, Toblinger Knoten, in a very crowded mountain hut. Later on, Tanguy Renaud-Goud (FRA4) and Damien Lacaze (FRA1) also set up a bivouac at the cable car station in Turnpoint 7 Disentis Sedrun.
Athletes in a hut near Sexten Dolomites, Italy
© zooom / Lukas Pilz
But it’s not just about where the athletes sleep. It’s how little they sleep. The mandatory rest period is of seven hours, between 23:00 and 04:00. After the rest period is activated, movement is restricted, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to relax. Athletes are eating, recovering, analyzing weather data, repairing gear, and coordinating logistics with their supporters — and only then, maybe, catching a few hours of rest.
Sleep deprivation adds another layer of complexity to an already demanding race. Fatigue can lead to slower decision-making, harder flights, or physical mistakes during long hikes. Teams must walk the razor-thin line between pushing forward and burning out.
Supporters play a vital role in this balance. Acting as chefs, weather analysts, physio therapists, psychologists, and logistics coordinators, they also often double as human alarm clocks, nudging their athletes awake after just a few hours of sleep to begin another day of racing.
Follow the latest race updates via 3D Live Tracking here!
