30/08/2026
The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett continues to deliver a fascinating battle of endurance, meteorology and strategy as the remaining gas balloons push deeper into Eastern and Northern Europe.
🇧🇪 BEL-1: Geert Peirsman & Kris Houtmeyers Step In Balloons Gas Competition Team
For BEL-1, the adventure came to an end yesterday evening in Poland.
After covering 756.61 km, Geert Peirsman and Kris Houtmeyers made a safe landing near Bydgoszcz, bringing their Gordon Bennett flight to a close after an impressive journey eastwards from the launch site in Gladbeck, Germany.
Their balloon may now be back on the ground, but Belgium is still very much in the race.
🇧🇪 BEL-2: Stefan Ryckaert & Gauthier Hayt Gordon Bennett Team BEL-2
For Stefan Ryckaert and Gauthier Hayt, the adventure continues.
BEL-2 has successfully made it through a second night in the air and has now covered more than 1,150 km.
This morning, their route has taken them through the Suwałki Gap, the narrow corridor along the Polish-Lithuanian border between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.
It is a remarkable place to see a Gordon Bennett balloon passing through. With restricted airspace on either side, the corridor provides one of the few possible routes for teams continuing north towards Lithuania and the Baltic States.
After two nights in the basket, Stefan and Gauthier continue their journey north-eastwards, with every kilometre taking BEL-2 deeper into the race. 🇧🇪🎈
🇨🇭 SUI-2: Balthasar Wicki & René Erni
At the front of the race, the Swiss team of Balthasar Wicki and René Erni chose a dramatically different strategy.
While BEL-2 followed the route towards Poland and Lithuania, the Swiss crew headed north and committed to a spectacular crossing of the Baltic Sea.
That decision has carried them all the way towards Estonia, where they are currently continuing north with Finland ahead of them.
Two very different routes are now unfolding: one through the narrow land corridor between Kaliningrad and Belarus, the other across the open waters of the Baltic Sea.
The balloons keep moving.
The strategies keep evolving.
And the Gordon Bennett continues. 🎈🌍
Good luck Stefan and Gauthier! Keep flying! 🇧🇪💪🎈
