In what was the penultimate Lead World Cup of the 2025 season, Madrid saw first-time Gold medal winners on both the men's and the women's sides of the competition.

On the women's side of things, Annie Sanders improved upon her second place finish in Chamonix by taking the top spot in Madrid, her first Gold in Lead, despite having finished on the podium in four out of her last five World Cups.

'I'm honestly still in shock right now' she said, 'I'm super excited to have executed well enough to win the gold. I didn't know what to expect at the beginning of the season, but after the first Lead World Cup in China I knew I was capable of doing this, and I'm glad it finally happened'.

Laura Rogora, who has only once finished outside the top four this season, came painstakingly close to matching Sanders' top of the final route, falling as she attempted to secure the final hold, whilst Brooke Raboutou - competing in just her second World Cup this season - improved upon her fourth place finish in Chamonix, securing Bronze with third place, her first World Cup medal since Villars 2023.

With two wins and two Bronzes to her name, Erin McNeice may be slightly disappointed to have not managed a fifth consecutive podium position, however her fourth place finish means that she remains on top of the overall World Cup ranking. With just one event left on the calendar, only Chaehyun Seo, Laura Rogora, and Annie Sanders are able to overtake her. 

On the men's side of the competition, Dohyun Lee came out on top, giving him his first Gold of 2025, a season where his overall form has not always been fairly represented by his finishing position. 

'At the end of the Boulder season I was a bit confused, I was disappointed in myself for my results in finals. I started thinking about how to improve myself, everyday, also in Lead, I tried and did my best. Now I'm happy.'

'When I finished my climb, I didn't think it was worth a gold medal, I would have expected fourth or fifth. It was a good experience for me. This feels unreal, I can't believe it. I'm just happy!'

The ever consistent Alberto Ginés López, who has finished no lower than third throughout the entirety of his 2025 Lead World Cup season, came agonisingly close to winning his first ever Lead World Cup Gold, his score of 40 just a '+' symbol behind Lee's. 

Satone Yoshida of Japan rounded out the podium, his second of the season, having won in Bali.

With just one Lead World Cup remaining in the 2025 season, Alberto Ginés López is currently at the top of the rankings, with Satone Yoshida, Sorato Anraku, and Neo Suzuki - all of Team Japan - the only athletes able to overtake him.

Lead Women

Lead Men

Next on the calendar is Koper, the final Lead World Cup of the 2025 season, which will take place between the 5th and 6th of September, and which will see the overall titles for the 2025 Lead World Cup decided.

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See below for the results of the Chamonix World Cup, which took place 11th-13th July, but which we were unable to cover at the time.

Lead Women

Lead Men