Sweet Swiss victory for Lachat and Eiter

Angela Eiter and Cedric Lachat win the fourth stage of the Lead Worldcup 2005 in Zurich, Switzerland.

June 2005

Fourth stage of the World Cup Lead in Zurich and the dream continues. Angela Eiter from Austria increases her lone lead by winning her fourth competition in a row, and this poker now sets nigh unshakable foundations for an overall victory in 2005. Making the most of a home crowd Cedric Lachat produced his first ever World Cup victory to finally see his dream come true, while current World Cup leader Flavio Crespi kept his 2005 dream alive by placing third.

Timo PreuÃler from Germany produced his best ever performance to place second behind Lachat, beating almost all including Alexandre Chabot (11th in Zurich and 6th overall), who, all of a sudden, has had to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer the indisputable star. This is a crucial moment for Alex, we’ll soon see how the French champion manages to react…

Seventeen year old Katharina Saurwein from Austria placed second in the women’s event, joint equal with nineteen year old Maja Vidmar from Slovenia. The two forced Sarkany into 5th place in Switzerland and third overall. Add to this 20 year old Jorg Verhoeven’s fourth place and the picture is clear: the strength lies in the new generation.

Crespi and Lachat were the only two athletes to top out in the men’s Semifinal, while Eiter and Eyer the only two in the women’s second round. No athlete topped out in the final, although Eiter climbed significantly higher than all the rest. Lachat and PreuÃler both reached the same hold and were consequently split on their semifinal result. RamÃ³n JuliÃ¡n Puigblanque, another force to be reckoned with for the World Cup ranking, missed the final and placed only tenth.

The World Cup has now reached the half-way stage. The next competition, in Chamonix on 12-13 July, is therefore all the more important for this rather particular season. Particular also because the World Championships are due to take place in Munich from 1-5 July. Lead, Boulder and Speed – it’s the competition all have been training for!

Final results men - Zurich (SUI)
1 Lachat CÃ©dric SUI
2 PreuÃler Timo GER
3 Crespi Flavio ITA
4 Verhoeven Jorg NED
5 Bindhammer Christian GER
6 Caude David FRA
7 Millet Sylvain FRA
8 Zardini Luca ITA
9 Dugit Fabien FRA
10 Puigblanque RamÃ³n JuliÃ¡n ESP
11 Chabot Alexandre FRA
12 Ito Hidekazu JPN
13 Valjavec Tomaz SLO
14 Sommer Remo SUI
15 Sova Matej SLO
16 Krastev Ivailo BUL
17 Munoz Dmitri FRA
18 Dugit Stephane FRA
19 Desgranges Romain FRA
20 Manzanedo CÃ©sar Ciudad ESP

Provisional results Men World Cup 2005
1 Crespi Flavio ITA
2 Lachat CÃ©dric SUI
3 Puigblanque RamÃ³n JuliÃ¡n ESP
4 Verhoeven Jorg NED
5 Zardini Luca ITA
6 Chabot Alexandre FRA
7 Usobiaga Patxi ESP
8 PreuÃler Timo GER
9 MrÃ¡zek TomÃ¡s CZE
10 Bindhammer Christian GER

Final results women - Zurich (SUI)
1 Eiter Angela AUT
2 Saurwein Katharina AUT
Vidmar Maja SLO
4 Eyer Alexandra SUI
5 Sarkany Muriel BEL
6 Conan Fanny FRA
7 Lavarda Jenny ITA
8 Kobayashi Yuka JPN
9 Franko Lucjia SLO
10 Bacher Barbara AUT
Cufar Martina SLO
12 Ostapenko Alena UKR
Pinet Florence FRA
14 Raffetseder Gerda AUT
15 Harnisch Martina AUT
16 Graftiaux ChloÃ© BEL
17 Piola Anouk SUI
18 Etter Susanne SUI
19 Berry Samantha AUS
20 Januel Caroline FRA

Provisional results Women World Cup 2005
1 Eiter Angela AUT
2 Vidmar Maja SLO
3 Sarkany Muriel BEL
4 Ciavaldini Caroline FRA
5 Gros Natalija SLO
6 Levet Sandrine FRA
7 Franko Lucjia SLO
8 Saurwein Katharina AUT
9 Eyer Alexandra SUI
10 Kobayashi Yuka JPN