Saturday 14/8 2004
    After few night showers and one storm is the sky in the morning clearly blue and the temperature on the contrary to the previous days much lower. Sharp sun is making around the nearby mountain peaks first glooms already after seven o'clock a.m. and the visibility in the clear air is excellent.

    After drying off some of the flooded tents, squeezing water out of the soaked sleeping bags and drying bread for breakfast is after 9 a.m. entire competitive field getting up, as usually, on the hill. But there is an unpleasant surprise waiting for us on the hill - brisk, northern wind, which is regarded as dangerous by the commission for the task making and we have to wait.

    After 2 p.m. is announced 53 kilometers long task with first turning point in Kobarid, second above the former Johnson camp and third again in Kobarid, fourth in the peak of Kuk; with the goal as usually on the grassy plying field of the Tolmin stadium.

    Most of the favorites go up in the air without waiting, right at the moment of the opening of launching window at 2.30 p.m., as if they guessed, what will follow. Within twenty minutes there can be seen in the route direction a shower being formed in the distance and the big cloud above the Krno started to darken alarmingly.

    "I am going back, torrential rain is coming form Kobadir!" we can hear at 3.02 p.m. on the frequency of 147.8 MHz Mirek "Radar" Snehula talking and speedily comes another pilot with similar message. Now it's raining on Krno as well and first lightning is being heard.

    "For all the pilots in the air: the task is canceled!" is the director of the race Martin Sliva calling into the air and the fight is definitely over. The canopies on the routes are tilting their ears and pilots are trying to fall onto the Tolmin stadium. Peter Hrivnak was so unfortunate that he broke the top of the high spruce on the west side of the stadium; a moment later he is taken by the ambulance to the hospital for a thorough check-up.

    The overall winner and also the Champion of the Czech Republic is Tomas Brauner, in the women category it's Petra Krausova and the Slovakian Champion is Peter Vyparina. The overall results of all 11 categories are available in the section of "The race's results" (viz direct reference below).

    My final thanks go to the organizers of the race for the provision of the very fast Internet access right in the stadium of Tolmin, to Petra from Pardubice for her patient posing for the photograph "Reserve" and of course, to the Gradient Company for the sponsoring of this reportage.