Rémi Bourdelle Dies in Accident During Dolomiti SuperFly
The paragliding community is mourning the loss of Rémi Bourdelle, a French pilot who died following a fatal accident during the Dolomiti SuperFly 2026 hike-and-fly race on the evening of Tuesday 25 August.
Rémi, 34, was killed after his paraglider struck a cable at around 7.10pm local time, just 50 minutes before the mandatory rest period was due to begin. The collision happened shortly after he launched on the Italian side of the Timmelsjoch / Passo Rombo while heading back south towards the Dolomites, a crossing point that competitors had used on both legs of the north-south course.
Race organisers cancelled the remainder of the event out of respect for Rémi and his family. In a statement they confirmed the accident occurred near the Timmelsbrücke close to Passo Rombo, at roughly 2,000 m, when his glider hit the cable of a hay-transport cableway, causing a fall of about 60 metres. Emergency services, including the rescue helicopter, alpine rescue teams and the Guardia di Finanza, responded at once, but his injuries proved fatal.
A hugely respected and much-loved figure in the Chamonix scene where he lived, Rémi worked as a school teacher and flew sponsored by the town. Earlier this year he broke the Chamonix site record with a 314 km FAI triangle. He had competed in the sport’s major adventure races – the X-Pyr, Dolomiti SuperFly and Bornes to Fly – and won the 2024 Eiger Tour winter edition. This year he was flying an Ozone Zeolite 2 (EN-D).
Eight-time Red Bull X-Alps champion Chrigel Maurer, who shared the race with Rémi over the previous days, posted that the accident left him “deeply saddened”, adding: “We are exposed to many dangers in the mountains. Cables and ropes are a significant risk, and even the best safety equipment can never provide complete protection.”
It is the first time a pilot has died in one of the major international hike-and-fly races. We extend our deepest condolences to Rémi’s family and to all his many friends in the community and beyond.