German Open Day 1

The German Open has a very deep field this year. Since the Pre Euros was just the week before most of the top pilots have just moved over here to Greifenburg. The weather forecast has the dreaded strong NW wind today so a task is set to keep us further south. The prediction is for tough times on the last leg into the wind back to goal. The last turnpoint is across one more valley then the routes usually cross so no one is really sure what line will work best. There are 2 starts separated by a half hour. I get very lucky about 5 minutes before the start window opens when a strong thermal blooms up on the side of a cloud. I am able to climb up the side for an extra few hundred meters on most of the other pilots. I lose that extra altitude and then some ¾ of the way through just the first glide. One pilot took a different climb further over the ridge and is much higher then the rest of us. Seppi led the charge to the first turnpoint in a saddle and we just glide on. The very high pilot lures a few aggressive guys further down course but I stop to fish through some turbulence. Too much time looking means all the slower pilots are now all above me. The air is strong, rough, and I am getting frustrated. We run down this high ridge on a great line stopping for the strongest cores. Oleg is at cloudbase and I struggled to try and catch up. By the end of the ridge I am still not at cloudbase so I have to just let the leaders go and work on getting established. They all headed straight towards the turnpoint but I head about 30 degrees to the left to get on a ridge where I see pilots climbing. The rest of the group I was with heads 90 degrees to courseline to take a climb in the distance. I guess I am flying alone again.

I found good lift where I had spotted gliders a couple minutes before and got high. The second turnpoint was across the valley and there was no clear view of the leaders strategies. The opposing ridge has some clouds deeper but not on the front fingers. I fly best glide to get there high. I fish around with a few pilots and finally spot Oleg, Seppi, and maybe Gerolf. They are heading straight west rather then NW towards goal. The fishing for lift isn’t giving us much more then 1m/s but eventually the lift cycles up and we get close to base. The last turnpoint is only a couple k away so it is easy to grab it and get back in the climb. By now those 3 leaders are gone so I head west as well to get closer to the narrow part of the valley. My luck was on, a nice new cloud was blooming straight ahead. Also, a huge cloud region is covering the tallest peak on the other side of the valley I need to cross. I can’t see the guys I was just with so I top out and best glide across the valley. The headwind is solid but the line is very buoyant. I arrived at the ridge above the peaks and the line into goal follows this same ridge line. Clouds dot the whole way. Racing relatively fast I still hold back fearing a vicious wind off the end of the ridge 8k before goal. My kidneys are screaming and I stop to piss. It is such a waste of time but I held it so long that I am frantically struggling to fly straight. The sky is empty so I stay conservative and milk it in. What a stupid fool I am. Never milk it in when you are racing. Out of nowhere Ollie appeared below me out in front. He came off the ridge a couple K north and just flew faster to pass me. I am much higher but it is too late to trade the altitude for distance. I stuff the bar deep but it is too late. We enter goal 1-2 but are later trumped by Guido who took the second start and flew faster.

I need to go easier on the hydration and keep my focus to the very end.

Kev C