In reply to petellis:
I wouldn't trivialize the real thing as a mere formality. Its the end goal: a route far harder than he's ever climbed before. One big difference is that it has to be done with a rope. There will also be a time window like he might only be there a week or two. It will be conditions dependent etc. and if its still close to his limit as I'm sure it will be then a big mental challenge too.
In terms of staying on form it would have been interesting to know what other training the guy does and how that fits in with his sessions on the model. But like anyone else I'm sure he'll keep trying to get stronger in the meantime.