Update: Aug 1 2011, The X-Alps race has come to a close and we'd like to send a big congratulations to Chrigel Maurer for a solid win and another amazing title in our sport, and to all of the pilots who made such a fantastic effort. We'd also like to send a special thank you to the pilots who chose to fly Ozone wings in the race. It was very entertaining for those of us watching safely from the comfort of our armchairs ;-)  We wish you all many more mountain flying adventures in the years to come. Cheers from all the Team. July 17 2011: The 2011 Red Bull X-Alps is about to kick off, and this year a record number of pilots have chosen Ozone wings to get them through what is probably the toughest and most intense adventure race in the world. The X-Alps competition needs no introduction, as it is probably the single most popular event in the history of our sport, with some of the biggest names in paragliding toughing it out not only on the air but on the ground through nearly 1000kms of difficult, mountainous terrain... and against the wind, almost the entire way. We'd like to introduce the Ozone pilot's in this year's edition, and we invite you to follow their progress during the race and cheer them on with us. For complete team bios and more info about the race, click here. Heli Eichholzer - Former World Cup Winner, and one of the few people to ever reach Monaco in an X-Alps event (2005) Heli is also four time Austrian Paragliding Champion and an accomplished mountaineer. He is a prime candidate for the X-Alps title and this year we have equipped him with the highest performance open class wing in the world, the Mantra R11. Heli's website: http://www.helmut-eichholzer.com/ Alex Hofer - UPDATE June 21 2011: Alex has been forced to withdraw from the race due to an injury. We wish him a very speedy recovery!    Possibly the most accomplished and highly decorated paraglider pilot in the world, Alex Hofer is a former World Champion, European Champion, Overall World Cup Winner, and two time X-Alps Winner! Alex will be a tough man to beat this year, and is a clear favorite for the race. A native of Switzerland, Alex currently resides in China where he has been flying and training with great intensity. Alex has chosen the Mantra R11 for the race. His website is www.alexhofer.com Martin Muller - In a country that is completely full of top pilots Martin has won the Swiss National Championships 3 times, which is no small thing. Martin finished the Red Bull X-Alps in 2007 with the fastest time and will be looking forward to beating that time in 2011. We hope that his new Mantra R11 will get him to his goal even faster this year. Martin's website is: http://www.alpsfreeride.com/index.php?categoryid=1 Philippe 'Fifi' Barnier - Fifi has been a paraglider pilot since age 13, and a mountain man since birth. Born and raised in the French Alps, he is at home walking, climbing, or flying through the mountains. His vast paragliding experience includes time on the French National Team and several podiums in the past 10 years. He will be flying the Mantra R11. His website: http://www.auphildelair.com/ Nuno Virgilio - Like several of his Ozone X-Alps Teammates, Nuno started flying as a teenager and has been at it ever since. Currently the top ranked pilot in his home country of Portugal, Nuno has placed consistently well in PWC events for many years. Nuno will be flying a Mantra R11 in the event. Nuno's website is: http://xalpsteamportugal.sam-cam.com/ Evgeny Gryaznov - A strong and stoic Russian, Evgeny is not concerned with the inevitable hardship of the X-Alps race. A top Russian pilot, Evgeny placed fifth in the last X-Alps (2009) and has been looking forward to this year's edition ever since. Evgeny has chosen the Mantra M4 as his race machine for its stability and ease of use in what he knows will be consistently challenging conditions. He is supported by his friend Anton Poliakov, who is also an Ozone pilot. If you happen to read Russian, check out his site: http://xalps.ru/ Jon Chambers - Hailing from Great Britain, Jon has been flying since age 16 and currently resides in the Swiss Alps. He will be supported by his father, who is an experienced endurance athlete and finisher of the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc, widely considered to be one of the most elite trail running events in the world. We suspect that with Jon's prowess in the air and his father coaching him through the endurance tests on the ground, he's got a great chance of making it! As long as they don't eat too many Pringles (Jon's title sponsor). He will be flying an M4. Jon keeps an excellent blog, check it out here: http://www.jonrchambers.blogspot.com/