Puurs Lead Climbing World Cup, Ondra and Ernst big in Belgium

After Chamonix, Barcelona and Imst, the Lead Climbing World Cup landed in Puurs in Belgium last weekend and was won, unsurprisingly, by Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic and Johanna Ernst from Austria. Unsurprisingly, because this season these two teenagers are proving practically impossible to beat: both have won three of these 4 competitions, putting them firmly into provisional first place ahead of closest rivals Patxi Usobiaga and Angela Eiter.

In the men's event Ondra climbed to victory in an exciting final, sprinting to the top at breakneck speed. His was the only top of the final route, set by a led Christian Bindhammer, while Usobiaga climbed powerfully but twisted and turned beneath the final headwall and fell just shy of the last holds. Manuel Romain from France placed third four holds lower still and all the remaining finalists, apart from Ramon Julien Puigblanque, were seperated in the space of just one hold touched or held.

Ernst's victory in the women's event proved no mean task: the seventeen year old had placed joint equal after the Qualifications, Semifinal and Final along Jain Kim from Korea and Maja Vidmar from Slovenia. The three women battled were forced into a Superfinal on a modified men's route and in the end Enst climbed 6 holds higher than this year's revelation Jain Kim, while Vidmar fell relatively low in the Superfinal and settled for third. Angela Eiter is back on fighting form after a year off to injury and thanks to her fourth place in Puurs the Austrian now trails Ernst in the World Cup 2009 by 50 points. The battle for supremacy in the men's event is obviously between World Cup 2007 winner and World Champion Usobiaga and the debutee Ondra, and the Spaniard trails by 40 points. No doubt the penultimate stage in Brno, and the traditional final stage in Kranj, will prove decisive.

IFSC Climbing Worldcup (L) - Puurs (BEL) 2009
25./26.09.2009
rank	name		nation
MEN
1.	Ondra	Adam	CZE
2.	Usobiaga Lakunza	Patxi	ESP
3.	Romain	Manuel	FRA
4.	Desgranges	Romain	FRA
5.	Becan	Klemen	SLO
6.	Amma	Sachi	JPN
7.	Supper	Gauthier	FRA
8.	Julian Puigblanque	Ramón	ESP
WOMEN
1.	Ernst	Johanna	AUT
2.	Kim	Jain	KOR
3.	Vidmar	Maja	SLO
4.	Eiter	Angela	AUT
5.	Durif	Charlotte	FRA
6.	Ciavaldini	Caroline	FRA
7.	Chereshneva	Yana	RUS
8.	Eyer	Alexandra	SUI