Maxime Pinot | Flying High

A few months ago, one of the best Hike & Fly athletes in the world joined the Salomon family. Hike & Fly combines hiking and paragliding and is still relatively unknown to the general public. In this portrait like no other, Maxime looks back on his beginnings, his career, his training... and above all on his dream of winning the most difficult event in the world, the 2023 Red Bull X-Alps, in which you must cross all of the Alps, flying as much as you can and hiking the rest of the distance, over 1,000 km.

Maxime Pinot | One of the best paragliders in the world

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? My name is Maxime Pinot and I am 30 years old. I have been paragliding for a very long time… I started flying tandem when I was 8 and I started flying alone at the age of 13. Now, I’m a paragliding instructor and a Hike & Fly athlete. I’m currently preparing for the most legendary race in our sport, the Red Bull X-Alps which will take place in June 2023. It’s taking up most of my time right now.

How did you get into paragliding? I discovered paragliding when I was 8 thanks to my dad who had flown a lot in the past. Then, I went through all the very well-structured steps set up by the French federation in order to reach the top level: Pole Espoir, Pole France and then Team France.

Can you tell us about your achievements? I won the World Cup in 2014, I came in 2nd at the European Championship and 1st at the European Team Championship this year (2022). I also finished 2nd at the Red Bull X-Alps in 2019 and the X-Pyr (crossing the Pyrenees) in 2018 and 2022.

Let's get back to your dream of winning the Red Bull X-Alps… How do you prepare for this kind of competition? The preparation never really stops! (laughs). You should know that this is a competition that takes place every 2 years. To prepare myself as much as possible, I do training cycles of 8 to 9 months, part of which is spent flying and the rest is spent working out, mixing several sports that are well-known to Salomon: running, trail running, a lot of cross-country skiing in winter (1,500 km last winter), ski touring, and a bit of cycling from time to time. To sum up, it is an eclectic preparation which is close to 1,000 hours of training divided equally between flying and physical preparation.

What does an average day during the Red Bull X-Alps look like in terms of physical commitment? At the last Red Bull X-Alps (in 2021), on average you had to walk 48 km (77 miles) with 3,300 m (10,000 ft) of elevation gain, starting fresh at 5 a.m. and finishing around 10:30 p.m. If flying conditions are worse, you might be looking at 90 to 100 km (160 miles) of hiking with a 7-kilo backpack. The days can feel endless in this case. We rarely go to bed before midnight, and have to wake up around 4:30 am, leaving us very little time for recovery between each day.

Maxime Pinot | The Hike & Fly experience from a pro

What are your tips for getting off to a good start? The best advice I can give is to start with a paragliding school. We are lucky to have excellent ones in France. If you want to improve, you shouldn't try to skip steps or go too fast. You must first lay a solid foundation with instructors on the key elements: take-off, landing and safety. Then it is very important to be curious about weather, aerology, etc. All this knowledge acquired will allow you to stay safe throughout your progression in practice. You can then fly alone rather quickly in designated locations, but only in calm conditions, then repeat what you have learned over and over.

Who has inspired you the most in this sport, or outside of it? There are quite a few in my sport… I would say Charles Cazaux, who is a member of the French national team, and a great athlete in our sport. I also have a lot of references for other sports. I admire athletes who have pushed the limits of their sport, who have made it progress, like Martin Fourcade for example.

Do you have a specific diet? Not a specific one, the most important thing is to have a balanced diet. My diet is mostly carbohydrate-based. Where I’ve progressed a lot is that I’ve learned how to nourish myself when training (sports drinks, bars, gels) to avoid major weaknesses during the race. Our food guidelines are actually quite similar to those for trail running.

What characteristics are crucial to perform in this sport? To succeed, you need to be versatile, with a good balance between physical fitness and flight technique. If you’re slightly out of shape, your flying skills can make up for that. Being in good physical shape can also compensate for certain in-flight errors.

Maxime Pinot | Joining the Salomon family

Why did you decide to join Salomon? Vincent (Vincent Thomas, Outdoor Product Line Manager) contacted me through a friend of my girlfriend. We spent over an hour talking about what the ideal shoe would be to perform in the Red Bull X-Alps. That’s how we started talking. I really liked the idea of seeking athletes’ experience. A good feeling then did the rest.

What Salomon model do you recommend for your practise? I really enjoy having different types of shoes depending on my training. For flat sessions I use the Phantasm a lot, a great, super light shoe with excellent energy return. When I run on trails that are not too technical, I choose the S/LAB Pulsar. I really love it, it feels like I have nothing on my feet, it’s a great shoe that I highly recommend.

Maxime Pinot | Relaxed interview

What is your best paragliding memory? I have a lot of very good memories but I would say that the best ones come from when I’ve been competing. When you train like hell all year and the plan you put in place ends up working out in competition, you really feel satisfied. During the Red Bull X-Alps 2019, we crossed the Alps from Salzburg to Monaco. When you get to the Southern end of the Alps and you see the sea after leaving from the edge of Austria, more than 1,000 km away... You think about how crazy it is to be able to achieve this, with nothing but a paraglide and the strength of your legs.

What is your favorite paragliding spot? Where I’m from, the Velan mountain in the Bauges, next to the Sambuy, which offers a great view of Lake Annecy.

What are the optimal conditions for paragliding? The optimal conditions are a light northerly wind that creates an air mass in which the updrafts are very good, also with small cumulus clouds because they’re a sign of updrafts... not to mention bright sunshine of course! In spring and early summer, with such conditions, is when you can fly the longest. I have already been able to stay up to 12 hours in the air!

Songs to recommend when hiking & flying? No music in the air at all, you have to be focused and aware of a lot of things. On the other hand, during long training sessions with light endurance, I often listen to movie soundtracks. I particularly like Jon Hopkins who makes electronic music.

Follow Maxime's preparation and daily life on his Instagram account: @max_pinot