And so their watch begins...

Big flights planned, but when to launch is a waiting game

WhatsApp Image 2019 06 17 at 10.12.54

Most of the athletes are now on, or headed for, high ground.

They are congregating on summits with southeast facing slopes, which will be warmed first by the morning sun. Over the course of the morning, cloud base will rise and the thermals will begin. And when the time is right, they will launch, likely en masse, hoping to make good headway towards Turnpoint 3 Aschau-Chiemsee.

Up front, Christian Maurer (SUI1) and Paul Guschlbauer (AUT1) are having breakfast together at around 1600m, waiting for cloud base to rise above take-off. They are happy and optimistic – but can they make Turnpoint 3 in a single flight? ‘Yes!’ says Maurer. Kaoru Ogisawa (JPN), who marched through the dark on his Night Pass, is nearby.

To the north, Benoit Outters (FRA1) and Toma Coconea (ROU) are on another ridge at around 1800m, waiting for conditions to improve. They will likely launch at around the same time as their rivals to the south, but small differences in the conditions could give one group or the other an early advantage. All is to play for.

Follow the action on live-tracking.

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