My experience

We sat down with Patrick and talked about his Red Bull X-Alps 2021. He told us about his highlights and stand-out moments and how the race compared to his previous ones.

What was your highlight of the race?
The best moment for me was to get to the goal in Zell am See with my team and even better friends than before the race. We stood together and all said: That was an awesome time!

What was the toughest part for you?
Waking up at 5AM on Day 6, the physical exertion of Day 5 (65km and 4,500 vertical meters) was clearly noticeable.

What was THE stand-out memory for you?
When my supporter, Andy Jäggi came to me and told me, "You have done something great with your performance."

How was this race in comparison to your other Red Bull X-Alps races?
The race in 2019 was very tough for me and it wasn't always a pleasure. 2021 felt to me like I was floating down a river on an air mattress and key places like Mont Blanc we could just fly around. So, I could enjoy many moments during the race.

Inside my race

Dive into Patrick's day-to-day experience through the race news and social media updates to see what it takes to complete the world's toughest adventure race!

The Red Bull X-Alps 2021 has finished. The clock stopped at 11:30AM on July 2, 2021 and these are the final rankings.

Congratulations to Christian Maurer (SUI1) who is the champion for an incredible seventh time, and to all our Red Bull X-Alps athletes, supporters and teams for a safe, fair and exciting race.

Thank you for following, but stay tuned. The race may over, but keep an eye on all our channels where we will be publishing new photos and videos, race drone footage, race analysis, athlete statements and interviews. We will be sharing special moments from throughout the race, stories and interviews with the athletes – and of course the 52-minute documentary.

Day 10

Patrick von Känel (SUI2) just landed spectacularly on the raft in Zell am See! He's second in the Red Bull X-Alps 2021, just beating Simon Oberrauner (AUT2) by minutes. He's landed at 13:37:30pm this afternoon and finished his race in 9d 2h 7m 30s.

Patrick von Känel (SUI2) is pulling ahead and crossing the valley towards Turnpoint 12 Schmittenhöhe. He is at 2700m, which should be enough to see him flying into the Turnpoint shortly.

Day 6

Patrick von Känel (SUI2) is hiking now but he knows his earlier mistake will cost him: "I'm back on the ground. Sometimes a single mistake can change a lot but such things happen. I managed to land in a tricky valley wind in Martigny – but my team and I already have a new plan about what to do next."

Day 4

Day 3

Patrick von Känel has made TP5 – the second athlete to do so. Unlike Maurer (SUI1) who took time to pose for photographs and enjoy the atmosphere we can expect to see PvK move through TP5 quickly. He is in full chase mode and will want to catch Maurer now they are both on the ground. Maurer's lead is down to 1km.

Day 2

Patrick von Känel (SUI2), who is in the chasing group hunting down the leader, is flying towards Mayerhofen from a fairly high point of around 1800m. This means he can glide far, but it may not be enough to cross the vally and fly on at the other side. Also, it is really early in the day, so there will not be many thermals to get up high. Alternatively, he might decide to land high up on the mountain and wait for better conditions. Making the right decision here can mean getting a strong lead or still behing behind the leaders later in the day.

Day 1

And they are off! The start of a 12-day race across the European Alps. From the centre of Salzburg to Mont Blanc and back – a distance of 1238km. Incredible scenes here as just minutes ahead of the start the entire field of athletes sang Happy Birthday for Tom de Dorlodot (BEL). That is the true spirit of the Red Bull X-Alps right there. We look forward to a fast, exciting and safe race over the next two weeks. We are here for the duration – follow Live Tracking and don't miss a second!