Eigertour 2026: Chrigel Maurer Takes Sixth Victory as Romy Sweda Wins Women’s Race

Swiss legend Chrigel Maurer has claimed his sixth Eigertour title, crossing the finish line just over 48 hours after setting off in the four-day hike-and-fly race. The victory adds to an already remarkable season that includes wins at X-Pyr and the Red Bull X-Alps Challenger. As he approaches his 44th birthday, Maurer continues to prove he remains at the very top of the sport.

He was followed home by fellow Swiss Lars Meerstetter in second and France’s Tim Alongi in third. Swiss pilot Romy Sweda was the fastest woman, finishing 10th overall, with France’s Solene Rombourg and Switzerland’s Mirjam Barrueto rounding out the women’s podium.

Race director Michu Witschi called it “a really nice race,” noting that competitors covered 266km and landed at least 28 times over the four days. “There were some incredible stories — people slept in their paragliders, in cable car stations, people were invited to farmer’s houses, gathered for nice fondues,” he said.

Urs Dubach, former head of the Swiss paragliding league, highlighted Maurer’s final day tactics in particular. “In a highly spectacular fashion, he tackled the final turnpoints almost entirely by flying,” Dubach wrote in his analysis. “But if you truly want to learn something from Chrigel, you should closely examine the completely unspectacular and highly effective track between Mannlichen and Stieregg instead.”

Pilots came from all over the world — Colombia, Austria, Australia, the UK, the Americas and more. This year also saw the first Asian athlete to finish: David Chen, widely regarded as China’s best paraglider pilot.

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