"… realizing my childhood dream"

Below you: glittering powder snow. Above you: a brilliant sky. Inside you: a well-oiled adrenaline production facility. The combination of skiing and paragliding made the first Red Bull Speedride a delightful testing-of-the-limits experience. Oh, yes, and a winner was crowned in the process.

It began with a helicopter flight from the foot of the Arlberg in Tyrol, Austria, to the Kreuzjochspitze at 2675 meters. Then continued, on skis and with a parachute, a thousand meters downwards in altitude – with seemingly weightless verves, jumps measuring up to one hundred meters, and with a lilting yodel on the lips.

Versatile and quick

“Speedriding is three-dimensional skiing,” the Frenchman Francois Bon raved, still exulted after the event. “You’ve got the speed, the curves; you’ve got the gliding. You can play with the slopes and feel the mountain – the perfect combination!” Speedriding is done on unprepared, deep-snow slopes on skis and using speedriding chutes – technically built like conventional parachutes, but thanks to its minimal measurements, only ten to 14 square meters, much more versatile and with a quicker reaction motion.

First meeting of the world’s best speedriders

At Red Bull Speedride, the new sport, awarded with the Brand New Award at ISPO 2007, experienced its first great performance show. The world’s best 16 speedriders met at Arlberg from January 21 to 25 and competed in the categories ‘Choice of line,’ ‘Skiing ability,’ ‘Flying ability,’ ‘Energy and Flow of the Runs’ as well as ‘Creativity of the Touch & Gos.’ Firstly there were two qualifying runs followed by the super finals between the best three. These performances were evaluated using video analysis and then voted on by all participants.

Dream of flying

At the super finals it was Frenchman Antoine Montant who beat the Swiss Mathias Roten and compatriot Francois Bon. “I enjoy being on the same podium with two great friends,” said Montant. “But we were all winners, because this event set new measures for our young sport.” Regardless of the outcome, all the participants were thrilled. “I’ve always wanted to fly, just like the mountain birds. This sport has now made it possible,” the fifth-placed local hero Daniel Kofler said. “And I was finally able to realize my childhood dream.”