The Red Bull X-Alps organisers have announced the line-up for the 2027 edition, which starts on 13 June: 37 athletes from 16 countries, the largest field in the race’s history, with seven women — also a record — and, for the first time, a separate women’s ranking.
What the X-Alps is and how it has been decided so far
The Red Bull X-Alps was founded in 2003 by adventurer Hannes Arch and organiser Ulrich Grill, and is held every two years. Athletes cross the Alps over almost two weeks by running, hiking and flying paragliders, covering up to 200 km a day and passing turnpoints on some of the most iconic mountains and resorts. On foot they can accumulate up to 4,000 m of ascent in a single day and run up to 100 km.
For 20 years the race was always won by Swiss athletes, with Chrigel Maurer as the dominant force: eight victories. In 2025, Aaron Durogati (ITA1) broke that streak after a very close finish. Lars Meerstetter was second and Simon Oberrauner third. Maurer finished fourth, less than 30 minutes behind the winner.
The Red Bull X-Alps 2027 duel
Maurer (SUI2) returns for his tenth edition aiming to win back a crown that was his for 15 years. Meerstetter now wears the SUI1 bib. The veterans also include Oberrauner (AUT1), Patrick von Känel (SUI3) and Tom de Dorlodot (BEL), who returns for his tenth edition after missing 2025 through injury; he made his debut in 2007.
Seven women, six of them rookies
Celine Lorenz (GER2) will be the only female veteran at the Red Bull X-Alps 2027. The other six are rookies: Romy Sweda (SUI7), who earned a wildcard by winning the Red Bull X-Alps Challenger 2026; Elisa Deutschmann (GER4); Solène Rombourg (FRA6), who has travelled through remote areas of the Andes and Patagonia; Pauline Müller (AUT3), Silvia Galli (ITA4) and Stephanie Westerhuis (SUI8). Sweda and Deutschmann have previously supported Maurer in earlier races.
A new generation at the Red Bull X-Alps 2027
The list includes 17 rookies. Among them are 20-year-old Aaron Mathis (SUI6), who also earned his place at the Challenger 2026, and the French pilots Lucas Bonin (FRA4), a hike & fly champion, and Charles de Beaufort (FRA3), who says he wants to prove that the new generation is on fire and that young pilots can stand up to the legends. Grill believes the level is now incredibly high and that there are rookies capable of fighting for the podium at this Red Bull X-Alps 2027.
Spanish-speaking presence
Spain will be represented by Mattin Iñiguez, a veteran of the race, and Argentina by rookie Juan Cruz Cabezas. The announcement does not yet detail the 2027 route.
Ojovolador’s take on the Red Bull X-Alps 2027
For Ojovolador, the X-Alps is the event that sets the hike & fly calendar: the Red Bull X-Alps 2027 line-up brings together the dominant athletes of the last decade, rookies who have come up through the competition circuit and, now, a women’s category in its own right.
+Info: redbullxalps.com
