Sunday, August 18
    "Privjet!" the flight director greets the 16 pilots that managed to get up and make it for eight o'clock to the meeting room for the morning briefing, after last night's party. Kralova hola is selected as the starting ground for the last discipline and the trip up is scheduled for 9:00. The sky is clear this morning and the weather report promises good flying.



    In light of the possibility of storms in the afternoon hours, the briefing at the starting ground takes place at 12:00 and a discipline leading directly towards the usual goal past Lopej is announced. The start window will be open from 12:30 to 15:00 and the overall length of the route is 48 kilometers.



    "Only cowards don't make it", Michal Oravec eggs on the pilots to higher achievements at the briefing, while a not exactly pleasant northeast wind blows at the starting ground, and the anemometer needle occasionally jumps to 10m/s.

    Nothing happens for an entire 45 minutes after the opening of the start window, until at 13:15 Vlastik Hlousek can't stand watching the clouds any more and takes off. After several minutes of futile planing the North side of the crest, he flies off over the East slope and begins rising unstoppably. This sets off the launching of the first group, which 20 minutes later is turning the base and flying off East.



    While the starting ground begins to be shaded by wide ranging breakup and one descending pilot is forced to make an emergency landing on the grassy slope far below the start, the first sounds of distant thunder from the direction of the High Tatras.

    The second wave of starts is set off after the return of sunlight to the North slope, when only 35 minutes remain in the start window. Even in this interval some pilots are able to gain the decisive altitude for flying off on the route, while others land either near Sumiac or , surprisingly, right in the East saddle of the broadcast tower nearby.




    Shortly before 18:00, a brief shower falls in Lopeji, but by then eight races have packed up at the goal line. The best time was achieved by Albert Schneider, but thanks to the relatively late start his point value is placed third. The winner of today's discipline is Bohuš Kolesár, and Finnish racer Antti Nummelin comes in second, with the already-mentioned Albert Schneider in third.

    The overall champion of this year's Podbrezové Cup becomes Juraj Sladký, with Finnish racer Antti Nummelin in second place and Bohuš Kolesár placing third. In addition to the trophies and material prizes, the top three racers split the monetary prize of 1,000 EUR amongst themselves.




    In this year's Championship of the Slovak Republic, the last part of which was flown within the scope of the Podbrezové Cup, was won by Juraj Sladky, with Fero Nizner in second place and Jozo Kunik in third.



    The winning team in the team competition was the Slovak "ŽP Sport", team, with the "Ukrainian Amateri" team coming in second and the Finnish "Arctic Circle" team third and Moravian "Spedima" team fourth. Elena Rochtchina, the only competing woman was also awarded a prize, as was the youngest pilot, Pavel Yakimchuk from Ukraina.

    This year's Podbrezova Cup was truly afflicted with unfavorable weather, not to mention the catastrophic flooding in Europe. Despite all of this, in the end it was possible to fly the necessary three valid disciplines. Even the weather took its toll this year, and next year everything will be different.