The third round of the 2016 IFSC Lead World Cup circuit saw competitors congregate in Briançon, France at the weekend. In similar weather conditions to the first round in Chamonix, rain delays disrupted the planned schedule, but unlike in 2014 when the finals were cancelled due to lightning storms, this year's event fortunately went ahead between bouts of rain. Slovenian couple Janja Garnbret and Domen Skofic took double Gold once again - a repeat of their performance in Chamonix.
With qualifiers and semi-finals both planned to take place on Friday to ensure contingency, all eyes were watching the weather forecast. Nine women and eight men qualified for Saturday evening's final, with young competitors Kajsa Rosen (SWE) and Sascha Lehmann (SUI) making their first Lead World Cup finals amongst an otherwise experienced field of climbers.
The women's event opened the show despite a heavy downpour of rain delaying the start time. Escorts wielding umbrellas brought the climbers out to the foot of the wall to prepare under the cover of the overhang. First out were French climbers Mathilde Becerra and Hélène Janicot, competing in front of a home crowd. Both women reached a point high on the headwall with Hélène securing an early lead. Dinara Fakhritdinova (RUS) made her first final since becoming the victim of a knife attack in Moscow last year, although her small stature didn't suit the wide moves on the final climb and she fell lower than her qualifying position might have suggested. Austrian teammates Jessica Pilz and Magdalena Röck achieved an identical climb, both reaching 38+ with Jessica finishing ahead on countback. Janja Garnbret (SLO) continued her winning streak, topping out the climb but being awarded 43 after timing out just short of the chains. Anak Verhoeven (BEL) and Jain Kim (KOR) both had a disappointing climb in light of their respective 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the previous rounds. Anak's hand slipped during a dynamic co-ordination move halfway up the climb, and Jain misread the delicate top sequence despite having made a smoother climb than Janja up until her fall, putting Anak in 8th and Jain in 4th position. Austrian climbers Jessica and Magdalena rounded off the podium in 2nd and 3rd place - shaking up Anak and Jain's consistency in Chamonix and Villars.
With water streaming down the wall and holds sufficiently damp, the routesetting team set to work on attempting to dry the men's route. Doubts crept in and a men's final was looking unlikely, until the showers subsided and the blow-dryers and chalk made the route climbable. Sascha Lehmann (SUI) put in a valiant effort in his first final, reaching halfway through the steepest section. French climbers Romain Desgranges and Gautier Supper were the first to reach the headwall with a protruding volume providing much entertainment for the crowd. Austria's Jakob Schubert had a disappointing run, falling low on the wall after slipping and making reference to the wet conditions. Following his win in Villars last weekend, Sean McColl (CAN) looked capable of a repeat performance, but he fell just short of Romain's highpoint, finishing in 3rd position. Domen Skofic of Slovenia took his second Gold of the season after a slight glitch in Villars, making one move further than Romain to take the win.
Team GB had two competitors competing in the event - Jim Pope and Dave Barrans, who finished 43rd and 60th respectively.
The next round is in Imst, Austria next month.
Watch the replay of the finals with co-commentary from UKC's Natalie Berry.
Results:
MENs lead
Rank | Name | Nation | Qual' | Semi's | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Domen Skofic | SLO | Top 1. | 43+ | 37+ |
2 | Romain Desgranges | FRA | Top 1. | 40+ | 37 |
3 | Sean McColl | CAN | Top 1. | 41+ | 35+ |
4 | Gautier Supper | FRA | Top 1. | 37+ | 34 |
5 | Masahiro HIGUCHI | JPN | 39+ 8. | 36+ | 24+ |
6 | Sascha Lehmann | SUI | 39+ 8. | 36+ | 24 |
7 | Urban Primozic | SLO | 34+ 13. | 36+ | 20+ |
8 | Jakob Schubert | AUT | Top 1. | 40+ | 16 |
9 | Stefano Ghisolfi | ITA | 39+ 8. | 36 | |
10 | Meichi Narasaki | JPN | 34+ 13. | 35 | |
11 | Hanwool Kim | KOR | 37+ 12. | 33 | |
12 | Francesco Vettorata | ITA | 34+ 13. | 32.5 | |
13 | Ramón Julian Puigblanque | ESP | Top 1. | 32+ | |
14 | Sean Bailey | USA | 39+ 8. | 32+ | |
15 | Thomas JOANNES | FRA | 34+ 13. | 32+ | |
16 | Hannes Puman | SWE | 29+ 29. | 32+ | |
17 | Mario Lechner | AUT | 34 20. | 29 | |
18 | Charli BLEIN | FRA | 29+ 29. | 28+ | |
19 | David Firnenburg | GER | 29+ 29. | 27+ | |
19 | Rustam Gelmanov | RUS | 29+ 29. | 27+ | |
43 | James Pope | GBR | 29+ 29. | ||
60 | David Barrans | GBR | 28 51. |
WOMENs lead
Rank | Name | Nation | Qual' | Semi's | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Janja Garnbret | SLO | Top 1. | Top | 43 |
2 | Jessica Pilz | AUT | 40+ 9. | 44+ | 38+ |
3 | Magdalena Röck | AUT | Top 1. | 41+ | 38+ |
4 | Jain Kim | KOR | Top 1. | Top | 35+ |
5 | Hélène Janicot | FRA | Top 1. | 36+ | 33+ |
6 | Mathilde Becerra | FRA | Top 1. | 36+ | 32+ |
7 | Dinara Fakhritdinova | RUS | 38+ 20. | 37 | 23 |
8 | Anak VERHOEVEN | BEL | Top 1. | Top | 20+ |
9 | Kajsa Rosen | SWE | 40+ 9. | 38+ | 18+ |
10 | Risa OTA | JPN | 40+ 9. | 36+ | |
11 | Katharina Posch | AUT | 40 14. | 36+ | |
12 | Delaney Miller | USA | 39+ 15. | 36+ | |
13 | Julia Chanourdie | FRA | 44+ 7. | 35 | |
14 | Ievgeniia Kazbekova | UKR | 39+ 15. | 35 | |
15 | Salomé Romain | FRA | 40+ 9. | 30+ | |
16 | Anne-Sophie Koller | SUI | 40+ 9. | 30+ | |
17 | Tjasa KALAN | SLO | 44+ 7. | 27+ | |
18 | Hannah Schubert | AUT | 38+ 20. | 26+ | |
19 | Seuran Han | KOR | 36+ 24. | 25.5+ | |
20 | Nolwenn ARC | FRA | 36+ 24. | 20 |
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