Rock Master Festival 2016: the finalists of the Lead World Cup at Arco

12 o’clock, high noon for the Semifinals of the Lead World Cup in Arco. This time has come for the second round. The goal for the 26 male athletes and 26 female athletes who passed yesterday’s qualifiers is but one: aim to climb as high as possible and secure one of the 8 + 8 places in tonight’s finals. All know this won’t be easy; the Climbing Stadium wall takes no prisoners and the finish is elusive to all but the very best. The route setters have raised the bar for today and quite rightly so, this is the game they’ve all come here for. As per usual the starting order is the opposite of yesterday’s ranking, meaning that the 9 men and 7 women who passed with flying colors yesterday (having topped out on both routes) will start last. So while waiting for the rumble, i.e. the strongest climbers in the field, the spectators “explore” the route by cheering all the athletes who try to make their way up the wall. Climbing as high as possible is a battle that may unlock the door to the grand finale.

The start is what you might expect. The first 10 immediately show where the first crux lies. Both for the men and women this trap is snared at about half-height. The best is Italy’s Francesco Vettorata who almost reaches the big wave, the roof that leads to the final flurry, by marching 6 holds higher than Germany’s Sebastian Halenke. What a beautiful climb! A trio composed of France’s Charlotte Durif French, Russia’s Dinara Fakhritdinova and Japan’s Yuki Hiroshige reach a high point, while Italy’s Claudia Ghisolfi falls, hot on their heels, two holds lower. The competition is in its early stages though and another 16 athletes are still to come… What is clear though is that the ticket to the men’s final is earned by breaching the big upside wave, while the women “win” above three- quarters of the route, where the overhang gets even steeper.

The first surprise is delivered by Romain Desgranges: the Frenchman shoots straight to the top, guaranteeing a place in the final! Italy’s Asja Golla arrives “only” 4 holds below Ghisolfi. Although the Italian is provisional 5th place, unfortunately this doesn’t appear good enough for the final, as shortly afterwards Ukraine’s Ievgeniia Kazbekova climbs half a move higher. Japan’s Yuka Kobayashi then takes the provisional lead, followed closely by France’s Mathilde Becerra and Austria’s Christine Schranz. Then along comes Anne-Sophie Koller from Switzerland who astounds all by fighting supremely and failing just below the top. Now though it’s the moment everyone has been waiting for: the 7 + 9 athletes who topped out twice yesterday, and the rollercoaster ride begins.

Russia’s Dmitrii Fakiryanov beat Vettorata by two holds and placed provisional 2nd. Switzerland’s Sascha Lehmann though messed up his chance and “plummeted” to 10th place, out of the finals. Slovenia’s Urban Primozic climbed higher but then suddenly tumbled, meaning that he too failed to qualify. The biggest surprise of all comes from Adam Ondra who “loses” his way below the roof and falls five holds lower than Vettorata. The Czech is at risk of being eliminated. He who doesn’t take this risk is Arco’s great specialist Ramón Julian Puigblanque who climbs all the way to towards the top and… falls off the last hold. Meaning that he’s in the final. Next out is Stefano Ghisolfi, yesterday’s best Italian. Today though he looks like he’s in difficulty, and although he battles hard below the roof he too takes a tumble. Provisional 7th, with another 3 athletes still to come. France’s Gautier Supper ruins his chances by falling low. Austria’s Jakob Schubert storms to within two holds from the top, meaning that he’s provisional third. Slovenia’s Domen Skofic produces the exact same performance and falls off the same hold. Yes, the route is a tough nut to crack. Furthermore, the best seemed somewhat “tense”. The outcome? Romain Desgranges qualifies first with the route’s only top, followed by Ramón Julian Puigblanque, Jakob Schubert, Domen Skofic, Dmitrii Fakiryanov, Francesco Vettorata, Adam Ondra and Sebastian Halenke.

The final flurry in the women’s event was marked by Belgium’s Anak Verhoeven magnificent, single top. Mina Markovic from Slovenia ground to a halt just one hold from the top, while her teammate and World Cup leader Janja Garnbret fell two holds lower. Together with Switzerland’s Anne-Sophie Koller (provisional 2nd) these athletes form the first four finalists, followed by France’s Julia Chanourdie, Japan’s Yuka Kobayashi, France’s Mathilde Becerra and Korea’s Jain Kim.

The final act begins this evening at 20:00 with the women’s final, followed at 21:00 with the men’s final. From what we saw so far, it’ll be a difficult (and beautiful) battle for all!

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