UKC

Last weekend the IFSC European Bouldering Championship took place in Innsbruck, Austria and kicked off the 2015 international bouldering competition season. As usual, Innsbruck put on a show that didn't disappoint, with performances from the athletes that matched the high quality spectacle of the event. German couple Jan Hojer and Juliane Wurm both took home the title of European Champion.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69729

In reply to UKC News:

would be nice to show the results for all the GBR team members. In particular, Ben West did brilliantly, only missing the semi-finals cut by a whisker.

In reply to UKC News:

>"Adam Ondra took silver after battling a tough round of problems which didn't appear to suit him."

Until watching that comp I hadn't been aware Ondra suffered from the curse of dry hands. I'm thinking the setters are going to be using more of those smooth slippy holds that caught him out, in the hope of exploiting this weakness, to give the others a chance.

In reply to hms:

I've added those. Great effort from the GBR team!

In reply to JLS:

I remember an Ondra interview a while back where mentioned dry skin. He said something like you can train really hard, get everything just perfect and then one thing, like dry skin, can ruin it all. So I take it he doesn't always suffer with dry skin.

I also couldn't help thinking when watching the comp that he might well have won it were it not for this issue. Particularly problem 3, which looked like it might have suited him more but not if the friction on your hands is reduced to pull on those slopey holds.

In reply to stp:

>"So I take it he doesn't always suffer with dry skin."

From my experience, I guess what he's getting at is that the dry hands thing is more of a problem on some day than others. The normal condition factors of temperature and humity that effect everyone can have a disproportionate effect on some one with dry hands. Most times it is possible to bring your hands into condition with a mix of spit and chalk and a good warm-up but some days you get all the friction of glass against glass.

You could sense his frustration on problem 3, he obviously must have had a glassy hands days.

In reply to JLS:
It may not be that random. If you climb outside a lot, you develop tough skin which isn't great for climbing inside and results in the "glassy hands" phenomenon. A bit of spit or water can help, hence the bowl Ondra was carrying.

I think you might be underestimating the other competitors. Ondra may be a step ahead of the rest on outdoor routes, but that's a world away from indoor bouldering comps. It's impressive that he regularly makes finals, but expecting him to win hands down is a bit much. He's clearly capable, but he's not the only one.

In reply to robin mueller:

I hear what you're saying about the others being quite good at climbing but my money is still on the 2014 bouldering and lead world champ cleaning up these comps this year. I second here as wee slip-up. Time will tell if my confidence is misplaced...

In reply to JLS:

Ondra in the mix definitely adds excitement. Given the right problems, Ondra can clear up, but people like
Jan and Dmmitri have their own super powers. We shall see...

In reply to robin mueller:


In the recent Ondra training video it looked like all he was doing was indoors: campusing and climbing on wood or plastic and going to school during the day.


Maybe, though he looked pretty dominant in last year's La Sportiva legends comp. But I was thinking more specifically of that problem 3 which might have been much harder with glassy skin.

In reply to robin mueller:

I was a bit disappointed that neither Dmitri nor Rustam made it through. And, yeah on the right kind of problem Jan seems unbeatable. Did Shauna say she saw him do 17 one armers at one point?

The women's looks good to with possible challenges to the dominant 5 in the world cups.

In reply to robin mueller:

Well, i think that's round one to you. Ondra looked as challenged by the Toronto finals problems as any of the others.

In reply to stp:


https://www.facebook.com/OnBoulderingNews/posts/933910933336555

In reply to JLS:


Heh! Yes but still well capable of winning if the problems go his way. After two rounds now 2nd overall so not shabby. Amazing that Nathaniel is leading. China will be interesting...

In reply to robin mueller:

Yeah agreed I think Ondra has an excellent chance of winning. He's definitely not one of the most powerful climbers but his experience, technique and head make up for it. So long as there aren't too many pure power probs I think he's in with a good chance.

Looking forward to the rest of the comps.