North Battleford, May 28: A French skydiver's hope to set a new free-fall record might have come to an end today when his ride to the sky left without him. The helium balloon Michel Fournier was going to use to soar to the stratosphere detached from the capsule he was going to use to jump from 1,30,000 feet.

It happened after the balloon was inflated on the ground at the airport in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. The balloon drifted away into the sky without the capsule. Fournier appeared disappointed as left the capsule and walked to the hanger. He was hugged by members of his entourage.

The balloon was reported to have cost at least USD 2,00,000 and Fournier was said to have already exhausted his finances. His handlers planned a media briefing for later on Tuesday.

Fournier, 64, had planned to make the attempt yesterday, but had to postpone his plans because of weather conditions. Attempts in 2002 and 2003 ended when wind gusts shredded his balloon before it even became airborne. Fournier hoped to break the record for the fastest and longest free fall, the highest parachute jump and the highest balloon flight. He also hopes to bring back data that will help astronauts and others survive in the highest of altitudes.

An army of technicians, data crunchers, balloon and weather specialists arrived recently in North Battleford, a city of 14,000 near the Saskatchewan-Alberta boundary, for the attempt.