The final round of the IFSC Lead World Cup took place once again in Kranj, Slovenia this weekend: the culmination of a tiring five month season, which neared seven months for those competing in dual disciplines. Despite busloads of supporters from Janja Garnbret's home town making the journey to watch her compete, the young Slovenian didn't quite manage to clinch the final gold medal of the season, with Belgium's Anak Verhoeven taking the win. A surprising victory came in the men's category with German Sebastian Halenke winning by 14 moves. Great Britain's Molly Thompson-Smith ended her 2016 season on a high with a fantastic 14th place, qualifying in 9th place for the semi-final round.

In the men's final, a long, meandering route looked set to entertain the crowd, but unfortunately a stopper move on the lower wall saw only Sebastian reach past the roof. Slovenia's Domen Skofic climbed three moves past the stopper section to take second place in front of a home crowd and Jakob Schubert claimed third place on countback and time. This was Sebastian's first World Cup win, and a well-deserved victory after a difficult season of setbacks and injury.

For the women, a sloper-filled route split the field well. Former Boulder World Cup winner Akiyo Noguchi impressed the crowd with a smooth ascent to a point just below the final headwall. Mina Markovic reached the same point, but was marked with a 'plus' rather than a hold, with Akiyo momentarily sticking the next hold in control.

Anak Verhoeven cruised up the lower section of the route and surpassed the tricky section below the headwall, falling just short of the top. Having won all but two of the rounds so far, Janja Garnbret had already secured the overall title. A controlled climb appeared to cause no issue for her, until a blind throw for the same hold reached by Akiyo and Mina saw her miss the positive part of the hold. Tied with Mina, Janja's semi-final position earned her third place, with Akiyo taking second behind Anak, who won her second ever World Cup following her victory in Arco this season.

In the overall standings, Domen Skofic took the overall title with Jakob Schubert in second place and Romain Desgranges of France in third. 

With a strong performance in the final IFSC Lead World Cup, Slovenia overtook France in the National Team Ranking for Lead. France finished second above Austria.

IFSC World Cup Overall Results 2016

Men

1. Domen Skofic
2. Jakob Schubert
3. Romain Desgranges

Women

1. Janja Garnbret
2. Anak Verhoeven
3. Jain Kim

Combined Results (Boulder and Speed)

Men

1. Sean McColl
2. Jakob Schubert
3. Kokoro Fujii

Women

1. Janja Garnbret
2. Akiyo Noguchi
3. Jessica Pilz

Full results here.

IFSC Climbing Worldcup (L) - Kranj (SLO) 2016