Klix, Germany 22 April – 2 May 2026
The village of Klix in Saxony hosted the 32nd running of its International Gliding Cup from 22 April to 2 May 2026, drawing competitors across four classes: Club, 18 Metre, 15 Metre (Standard), and Double Seater. The competition opened on 22 April but the first four days produced no flyable tasks, with racing beginning in earnest on 26 April. Seven tasks were ultimately completed across all classes before the final day on 2 May concluded proceedings. Tasks ranged from Racing Tasks to an Assigned Area Task, and covered routes threading through the airspace of eastern Germany and western Poland, using turnpoints such as Wegliniec, Lieberose, Cottbus, Pszczew, Staropole, and the local checkpoint at Koenigswarta.
Club Class
The Club Class drew twenty competitors flying a variety of handicapped gliders — LS 4s, ASW 20s, Discus variants, LS 3s, the Pegase 101, and the veteran LS 1 of Connor Hennemann. Racing proved close and consistent throughout the week, with the overall result not firmly settled until the final task.
Task 1 — 26 April Racing Task 360.78 km
The opening day set a distance of 360.78 km with turnpoints via Hahnenberg, Brand, Staropole, and Rothenburg. Christopher Hanson (ASW 20, LSV Schneverdingen) took the day win at 103.92 kph, with Andrius Tamulenas (LS 4, Vilniaus aeroklubas) second at 97.85 kph and Olaf Brückner (LS 4, HVL Boberg) third at 99.72 kph. Alessandro Bassalti, who would go on to win the class overall, finished fifth on 94.51 kph. All twenty starters completed the task.
Task 2 — 27 April Racing Task 349.61 km
A 349.61 km course via Olbasee, Wegliniec, Stale, Staropole, Fuenfeichen, and Koenigswarta. Tim Vermelis (LS 4, Zweefvliegclub Rotterdam) won the day at 98.33 kph, just ahead of Titas Jovaisa (ASW 20, Lietuvos Aeroklubas) at 102.47 kph and Tomasz Krok (LS 4, Aeroklub Leszczynski) at 98.29 kph. All twenty finishers completed the task. Krok's consistent presence near the top was already beginning to shape the overall standings.
Task 3 — 28 April Racing Task 378.17 km
The longest Club Class task of the week at 378.17 km, routed via Hahnenberg, Lieberose, Pszczew, Cottbus, and Koenigswarta. Speeds were lower across the field, reflecting more demanding conditions. Andrius Tamulenas took his only day win of the competition at 88.80 kph, with Pawel Glowacki (Pegase 101, Leszno) just behind at 88.27 kph and Alexander Franke (LS 7, Flugverein Gütersloh) third at 88.97 kph. Krzysztof Owsiany landed out, scoring only 309 points from 329.52 km, the first notable non-finish of the competition.
Task 4 — 29 April Assigned Area Task 303–482 km (4 hours)
The only Assigned Area Task of the contest, set for a four-hour duration with pilots free to work the area between Krzywa, Wschowa, Goyatz, and Koenigswarta. The format rewarded those who could read the day and push the distance. Bassalti flew the furthest useful distance at 428.38 km and won the day at 98.29 kph. Hanson was second with 421.83 km at 102.34 kph, and Jovaisa third with 419.20 km at 100.56 kph. Krzysztof Owsiany again struggled, covering only 308.43 km for 367 points.
Task 5 — 30 April Racing Task 260.74 km
A shorter 260.74 km task via Hahnenberg, Gross Ziescht, Grossmuckrow, and Koenigswarta, with reduced maximum points available (966) reflecting the smaller field completing the task. Bassalti won again at 89.44 kph and took the full 966 points, with Krok close behind at 90.33 kph for 960. This was a difficult day for several pilots: Andrius Tamulenas, Joachim Opitz, and Tristan Brack all landed out having flown only a fraction of the task, and Alexander Franke did not start having left the competition area. Connor Hennemann also failed to finish, reaching 228.91 km.
Task 6 — 1 May Racing Task 251.99 km
A 251.99 km course via Lieske, Wegliniec, Krosno, Cottbus, and Koenigswarta, again with reduced maximum points (938). Bassalti completed a run of four consecutive day wins, crossing at 88.58 kph for 938 points. Connor Hennemann produced one of his better results of the week in second place at 85.67 kph, with Brückner and Rechenberger close behind on the same elapsed time. Krzysztof Owsiany and Alexander Franke did not fly.
Task 7 — 2 May Racing Task 224.79 km
The final task was the shortest of the week at 224.79 km via Lieske, Novogrod Bobrzan, Lieberose, and Koenigswarta, with maximum points capped at 708. Bassalti won the day yet again at 99.08 kph, making it five consecutive daily victories to close out the competition. Krok was second at 99.31 kph and Rafal Siankowski third at 99.23 kph. Several pilots left the competition area and did not complete the task, including Tamulenas, Jovaisa, and Hennemann.
Club Class Final Standings
Alessandro Bassalti (DG-300/DG303, KonAck) won the Club Class with 6,447 points, a margin of 215 points over Tomasz Krok (LS 4, Aeroklub Leszczynski) on 6,232. Brian Rechenberger (LS 3/a, Fliegerclub Leipzig/Taucha) was third on 6,041. Bassalti's consistency was the deciding factor: he won five of the seven tasks outright and placed no lower than tenth on any day. Krok, by contrast, was steady throughout but could not match Bassalti's pace on the days that mattered most. Rechenberger similarly posted reliable results without reaching the top of a daily sheet.
Hanson finished fourth overall on 5,972 after winning Task 1 but fading on the shorter, more marginal days later in the week. Tim Vermelis (fifth, 5,868) was undone by a poor Assigned Area Task result. Rafal Siankowski finished sixth on 5,749 with a characteristically even scorecard.
18 Metre Class
The 18 Metre class was the largest of the four, with forty entries spanning a wide range of gliders from JS3s and AS 33s to the older Nimbus 3DT and DG 800S. Tasks were longer than those set for the Club Class, with the final day's 18m task covering 291.01 km.
Helge Liebertz (ASH 25, LSV Gifhorn) won the class on 5,429 points, ahead of Ingo Trentelj (ASH 25 EB 28, Aero Team Klix) on 5,385 and Markus Ganev (Ventus 3 18m, Segelflygarna Uppsala) on 5,377 — a notably tight podium with fewer than 60 points separating the three. Ganev won the final day at 104.56 kph, with Andreas Kühl second at 104.35 kph and Peter Pollack third at 102.73 kph.
Andreas Kühl (JS3, FSV Eisenhüttenstadt) had the highest single-day score in the class — 1,000 points on Task 1 — but a zero on Task 3 dropped him to 34th overall on 3,602 points, a cautionary illustration of how a single bad day can define a competition result. Similarly, Sabrina Vogt (AS 33, FSV Eisenhüttenstadt) won the second-highest daily score in the class on Task 1 (966 points) but suffered heavily later in the week. Trentelj, competing on home ground at Klix, was rewarded for a steady week without extremes.
15 Metre Class
Twelve competitors flew the 15 Metre class. Matthias Greiner (ASW 20 F, Aero-Club Bad Nauheim) produced the standout performance of the entire competition in his class, winning the first five tasks in succession and finishing on 6,104 points. Andreas Görmer (LS 8, SFZ Ottengrüner Heide) was second on 6,021, and Jan Fahlgren (Ventus 2b/c, SG-70) third on 5,792.
Greiner's run of five task wins gave him a margin that his rivals could not overcome despite Morten Bach (Ventus c 15m, SG-70) winning the final day at 95.92 kph and Greiner finishing second on 91.52 kph. Bach finished fourth overall on 5,601. Ivo De Schepper (Discus 2T, Kempische Aeroclub) had a troubled competition and finished last on 3,138 points.
Double Seater Class
Thirty crews competed in the Double Seater class. The Italian pairing of Ghiorzo and Gostner (Arcus T/M/E, ACAO Varese) won on 5,894 points, with Huttel and Beuth (Arcus, SFV Oerlinghausen) second on 5,798 and the Danish father-and-son crew of Jørgensen and Jørgensen (Arcus T, MSF) third on 5,529.
The final task saw van Breemen and van Nieuwland (TwinShark, West Brabantse Aero Club) win the day at 108.89 kph — the fastest speed recorded across all classes on the closing day — with Larsen and Elmgaard second at 104.56 kph and Seischab and Mayr third at 105.28 kph. Task distances in this class ranged up to 242.67 km.
Summary
Seven flying days from 26 April to 2 May gave all classes a thorough test of consistency across a mix of task types and weather. The Klix area in eastern Saxony offered a range of routes into Germany and Poland, with varying conditions across the week that punished mistakes and rewarded pilots who managed their energy and timing well. The 32nd International Gliding Cup will be remembered particularly for Bassalti's methodical domination of the Club Class and Greiner's similarly authoritative run in the 15 Metre competition.
Full results at soaringspot.com/en_gb/klix-2026
