The conditions here in Cameli continue to impress! Once again, we enjoyed a great forecast with a 4000m cloud base, as we’ve come to expect. Task 3 was set as an 89.2km route primarily through the mountains, anticipated to be a super-fast task with strong climbs. The start time was once again 12:30, and all pilots were airborne by 11:50.

To most people’s surprise, Task 3 turned out to be slower and more technical than expected. “When we saw the task, we thought we were just going to zip through the convergence, but actually, I think the inversion was stronger today, taking longer to break. There were really a lot of technical moments where we had to make decisions,” said Violeta Jimenez, the female winner and overall 4th place finisher, at the goal.

Salman Abdoli put on quite a show, flying completely alone on a different route towards the end of the task and arriving minutes before the leading gaggle. This bold move secured him the win! He explained, “I went alone because I preferred the cloud route, which turned out to be the better line.“