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We call our core factory pilots The UP Race Team. These are all world-class pilots with an impressive track record. Just as an example, we have several World Champions and World Cup Champions on our team!
The UP Race Team competes in events all over the world. From your perspective however, this is not their most interesting function! All of these pilots work closely together with UP R&D guru Stephan Stieglair, testing new wings, offering feedback, helping trim prototypes etc. This means that whatever UP product you choose, you can be certain that it has been tested and approved by several of the most experienced pilots living today – we feel that this is a good way to ensure that you get the maximum out of your investment!
A number of the UP Race Team pilots have agreed to take on yet another duty on behalf of UP International. They are local comp activities coordinators and their chores include that of identifying and recruiting local emerging talents, and coaching these to make sure the learning curve remains steep. In the list below you'll find the current crop of coordinators, if you feel that you're a talent and nobody has noticed yet then don't hesitate to shoot your local coordinator an email, explaining what makes you eligible for a special deal on a UP wing.
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Alex Hofer is one of the most successful competition pilots of all times. He has won everything worth winning, and he has won the Red Bull X-Alps twice! He's a giant in paragliding, a giant in real life (Alex stands around two metres tall...) and we're proud that he has chosen UP as his supplier of paragliding equipment.
Alex' merits include: World Champion 2003, Swiss Champion 2003, Red Bull X-Alps Champion 2005
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Gerald is a multi-athlete with a taste for extreme adventures. He flies paragliders a lot, but unlike most of the rest of us he doesn't get too frustrated if the weather is foul 'cos he just goes running up a nearby mountain instead - often carrying his paraglider just because he can.
Gerald lives close to Stephan in Austria, and he's one of the pilots Stephan calls upon to do comparative tests when new comp prototypes arrive.
Gerald has agreed to assume the role of local team coordinator for Austria. This means that if you think you have what it takes to get special deals on your UP performance wings then Gerald is your point of entry into the team. Shoot him an email.
Gerald hasn't been competing seriously for so long, but his list is already quite impressive:
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1st La Serrena Open ( Chile )
2006:
1st Merlot Open ( Argentina )
XC Rekord Chile ( still now the rekord )
2nd Chilean Nationals
3rd Cusco Open
2007:
5th Greifenburg Open
7th Austria Cup Open
1st Alpen Open
X- Alps Compitor
Dolomitenmann
2008:
3rd Alpen Open
2nd Bischling Cup
3rd Austria Cup Open
Dolomitenmann Promiteam
6th overal World Xcontest
2nd overal Austrian Xcontest
1st OLC XC Alps overal
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Josh has been doing this comp flyin' thing for longer than most of us, and his track record includes most anything worth winning in the US of A. When we decided we wanted to try and build a team of local coordinators for the UP comp activities, Josh was the obvious man to ask first.
Josh will be helping us identify and recruit emerging talents in North America, alongside his normal duties (which include winning the US Nats!!). If you're one of these emerging talents, and you want to fly a UP, get in touch with Josh as soon as possible.
Josh started paragliding in 1989 at the tender age of 16. He was on the US Team 1997-2007, US Champion in 1999, held a declared goal world record in 2004-2005 and has won several tasks in PWCs and World Championships.
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Julien is a special friend of UP, a young pilot from the French Pyrenees with an appetite for more and a cool, relaxed style. He's new to this section of the UP website, but he's already an old hand at helping us out whenever we need a helping hand. Among his accomplishments behind the scenes is the French section of the UP website, as well as all French handbooks and manuals.
Julien will be managing the French UP team together with UP France/Philippe Rigal, and he'll be doing comps almost full time in 2009.
If you are a French up-and-coming pilot with an insatiable thirst for speed and results, and you could see yourself being part of a small UP team of talents to be coached and supported by Julien and UP, then by all means let him know via email!
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Kurt is a purist at heart. He remains completely uninterested in the hustle and bustle of ordinary paragliding competitions, prefering instead to do his competing in complete solitude. This doesn't mean Kurt isn't a competitive person, he is, only his game is big XC flying from his home site in Alto Adige, Italy.
Kurt regularly manages to improve his personal records with massive FAI triangles and other closed-circuit tasks in the Alps, and he has consistently been at the top of the rankings in the Online XC contests in recent years.
When not out flying Kurt manages to hold a proper job as well as doing quite a bit of harness development for UP
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Hagen is another old-timer in the paragliding industry. He has already functioned as local coordinator for the German market for some time now, and he's looking forward to your email. He'll be working together with Olli Rössel on the coaching bit.
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So I get to introduce myself as well :-)
When I look at the awe-inspiring list surrounding me here I can think of but one field where I can beat almost all of the rest of these pilots; longevity...
I flew my first international comp in 1994, and I was a regular World Cup pilot from then and onwards until 2001, when I decided enough was enough (it really wasn't but one never knows does one?).
In the nineties I managed to slooowly move up the ranking ladders until in '97 I came 6th in the Euros in Piedrahita. The following year I was 2. in a World Cup in Morzine, and I moved into 6th on the FAI World Ranking list.
After my "comeback" (ha!) in 2004 I have managed to occasionally win things, most memorably the British Open in St. André in 2007. I still REALLY enjoy competing and will be doing lots of it in the future too!
At UP International I'm responsible for the International dealer network, for external communications, for the website and now also for the comp activities. If you're a budding superstar who just can't seem to get this through to your local coordinator (or there isn't one where you hang out) then let me know via email.
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Olli has been a loyal UP supporter since time immemorial. He has an impressive track record which nonetheless doesn't do his talent justice, since there should have been a World Champion title on there as well if it wasn't for that big collapse on final glide...
Nowadays Olli coaches comp pilots all over the world and teaches them to become better, faster.
Results include: Paragliding World Cup Champion 2004, German Champion 2003
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Orlane is the better half of our French Connection Philippe Rigal/UP France. She has been competing since 2002, and recently showed most of the guys how it is done in the pre-World Cup 2008 in Millau, France, where she finished 5th overall!
Once Orlane moved to the Edge her flying took a dramatic turn for the better, proof that it takes more than just talent to make it in paragliding...
Orlane sent me the following "dossier":
- 2002 vice championne de France (Cluz)
- 2003 vice championne de France (Chambery)
- 2004 3ième au championnat de France (Chamonix)
- 2006 Pré coupe du monde La Réunion (2ième fille, 5ième au général)
- 2007 Pré coupe du monde la Réunion (2ième fille, 24ième au général)
- 2008 Pré coupe du monde Millau (1ière fille, 5ième au général)
- Pré coupe du monde la Réunion (3ième fille, 20ième au général) Vice championne de France (st André les Alpes).
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Primoz is one of Slovenias finest pilots and part of the UP core team helping Stephan Stieglair develop the Open Class wings. Among his recent results we must include:
Paragliding World Cup 2. Poggio Bustone/I 2008, 5th Overall Europeans 2008
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Urs is an emerging talent from Switzerland who is new on the UP Race Team, in spite of having flown UP since he started competing. Aside from winning comps on UP wings Urs will be helping us promote the UP brand in comp circles in his home country, and possibly even act as a coach for a team of UP talents which we're hoping to recruit.
If you live in Switzerland and feel that you're ready to take the next step and become more serious about your sport we suggest you shoot Urs an email.
Urs' list of achievements include:
2002 Swiss League Overall 16.
2003 Schweizermeisterschaft Overall 16.
2003 Swiss League Overall 15.
2004 PWC Tapalpa Overall 18.
2005 PWC Cornizzolo 3.Task 11.
2005 PWC Nis 2.Task 10.
2006 Swiss League Cup Schiers 7.
2006 Swiss League Overall 14.
2007 Swiss League Cup Verbier 1.
2007 Swiss League Overall 7.
2008 Swiss League Cup Schiers 1.
2008 Swiss League Cup Fiesch 5.
2008 Schweizermeisterschaft 1.Task 3.
2008 Schweizermeisterschaft Overall 9.
2008 PWC Grindelwald 1.Task 2.
2008 PWC Grindelwald Overall 6.
2008 PWC Castejon 2.Task 9.
2008 PWC Castelo 1.Task 8.
2008 PWC Castelo 1.Task 8.
2008 PWC Castelo 4.Task 1.
2008 Swiss League Overall 5.
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