Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2011 - La Rochelle - Countdown to France!

The French port of La Rochelle will host Red Bull Cliff Diving competition for the third successive year this Saturday when the stars of the World Series launch themselves off a 27.5 metre-high platform. Watch it live on Red Bull TV!

With every dive from 27 metres the athletes have to overcome their fears anew. How do they cope with this vital feeling? Crashes and bad landings don’t keep the high divers from pushing their sport’s limits. Where does this urge to leave an eight-storey building without any protection come from? © Red Bull Media House

Artem Silchenko won the first competition of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013 in France, La Rochelle. The podium is completed by three-time World Series champion Gary Hunt in second and qualifier Blake Aldridge in third place. La Rochelle presented itself in the best way and welcomed the huge crowd of 70,000 enthusiastic spectators with bright sunshine. © Red Bull Media House

French cliff divers defend Fort Boyard from British conquest. In the early 19th century it was Napoleon who built the massive Fort off the French coast to protect his country from British invaders. 200 years later French world class high divers Hassan Mouti (FRA) and Cyrille Oumedjkane (FRA) met their British rival Gary Hunt for a trial of strength only a few weeks before the start of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2010 in La Rochelle on May 15.

In the next five months, and during eight competitions, the cliff diving elite will launch from almost three times the Olympic diving height in venues all over the globe, showing their most spectacular and difficult tricks, and overcoming rational fear to impress the judges and spectators alike. And to spice it all up, the 2013 World Series comes to its scariest location first: La Rochelle, France. © Red Bull Media House

THE MIND THE BODY La Rochelle is the first stop in the fresh season, the divers are not used yet to the extraordinary height and the cold and hard water combined with strong winds challenges them a lot. The diver has to be ready in his mind to execute a perfect and creative leap from the edge.

HIGH DIVING IN “LITTLE CLIFF” Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series kicks off in La Rochelle in May 2010 The highest platform, the coldest water, the most eagerly-anticipated competition – the French city of La Rochelle compiles a long list of superlatives for high diving. After overwhelming success in its first year, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series will again kick off in the town called “little cliff” which, after heavy winter storms, is now ready to host this dazzling competition. It wa...

Orlando Duque takes first season win during fifth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2013. After the highest scoring required rounds ever in a World Series competition – two 10s for Artem Silchenko’s new flying inward one somersault pike, one 10 for the later winner and no score from the judges lower than a 7 – the result allowed Orlando Duque (690pts) to close the gap on World Series champion Gary Hunt (780pts) and Silchenko (700pts) in the fight for the overall crown. © Red B...