Frankenjura | World Cup feeling in Europe's largest bouldering hall

At the 5th German Cup of the season in Europe's largest bouldering gym, two familiar faces stood atop the podium for the first time. We were there for you. on January 31th present at the kick-off event of the Boulder Bundesliga in Erlangen.

High-profile visit to Franconia despite snow chaos

Despite unexpected snowfalls that kept the Middle Franconia region on edge last week, boulderers from all over Germany and beyond made the journey to the Franconian Jura. Around 160 participants were welcomed by BLOCKHELDEN Erlangen – currently Europe's largest bouldering gym – on January 31st for the kick-off of the 9th stage of the Techniker Boulder Bundesliga. with Germany Cup In the evening, the six strongest women and men of the day also competed for a total of 6.600 euros in prize money.

Day qualifying round in Europe's largest bouldering hall

Jacob Gorbunow of the Boulder Bundesliga is happy to be back: "After the first German Cup in December 2022, we were once again guests of BLOCKHELDEN in Erlangen and found perfect conditions for a fantastic event: plenty of space, a very good isolation zone, high-quality route setting and a varied bouldering style."

During the all-day kick-off on Saturday, participants were tasked with topping 15 boulder problems each – divided into three leagues per gender. For some, the first challenge was likely finding their own boulders across a total area of ​​5.500 square meters. Spread over four floors and 2.600 square meters of pure wall surface, Europe's largest bouldering gym offered a total of 45 boulder problems in all styles and difficulty levels.

Strong lineup in the 1st league

Especially in the highly competitive first division for both women and men, the goal was to top and flash as many of the 15 boulder problems as possible to secure a place in the evening's finals. In addition to numerous amateur boulderers, many professional athletes also traveled from primarily southern Germany, but also from neighboring Austria and the Czech Republic.

The following members of the German national squad started Anna Maria Apel, Afra Hönig, Anna Lechner, Hannah Hattenbach, Lucas Trandafir, Philipp Martin, Tim Wuerthner and Finn Altemöller. But other familiar faces from the season – such as Jonathan Papadopoulos, Florian Schweiger, Daria Nesterenko (UKR) and defending champion Moritz Welt – also attended the tournament. High-profile reinforcements came from abroad, including Junior World Championship runner-up Lukas Mokrolusky, Junior European Champion Jan Štípek and Lysander Naimji (all CZE) as well as U17 national champion Jakoba Rauter (AUT).

A top-class finale with Megos as host

After the day's qualifying rounds, the lineup of six women and men for the evening's final was finally set. Several "seeded" names were included, while some favorites surprisingly missed out – such as Daria Nesterenko (7th place) and the 2022 titleholder, Moritz Welt (10th place). Franconia's most famous climber was brought in from England to moderate the livestream: co-commentator Alex Megos.

Surprise victory for Jonathan Papadopoulos

Jonathan Papadopoulos He's been a familiar face at the competition for several seasons now. In Erlangen, the 21-year-old from Kelkheim stood atop the podium at a German Cup for the first time. He hadn't expected it to happen today of all days. Nevertheless, Papadopoulos secured his place with three flashes on three final boulders, even ahead of a regular German Cup competitor. Tim Wuerthner and the 18-year-old Czech Lukas Mokrolusky on the podium.

First German Cup win for Anna Maria Apel

Also for Anna Maria Apel The German Cup in Erlangen yielded its first title – in her very first appearance of the season. The 20-year-old World Cup athlete and German Lead Champion has been training intensively in recent months before the international season opener many national and regional bouldering competitions.

The Munich native secured her first German Cup victory only in the very last minute: With the only top on the Powerboulder W3, Apel overtook her teammate. Afra honey, which had previously secured a faster top in W1 and a faster zone in W2.

The two Team Germany athletes from Innsbruck received reinforcements on the podium. The 16-year-old Jakoba Rauter The Austrian U17 national team member was the only one to flash the zone on the second, coordination-intensive boulder. Combined with her fast top in W1, this secured her the bronze medal – never before had an Austrian woman stood on a German Cup podium.

Men's final: (Almost) a little too easy

The first of the three men's final boulders may have initially given the route-setting team a bit of a scare. All six finalists topped the coordination-intensive sloper boulder in record time – four of them on flash. In the second boulder, a power test piece demanding upper body strength, the number of tops was halved, and now only the three eventual medalists were able to achieve them.

The third boulder was again on the easier end of the spectrum, but should have been a great hit with fans of traditional old-school climbing. The crimpy, shoulder, and hook-filled M3 route was flashed not only by Papadopoulos, Wuerthner, and Morkolusky, but also by the national team athlete. Lucas Trandafir from Regensburg. The 17-year-old narrowly missed the podium with two flashes and one zone – followed by his teammate. Finn Altemöller and the Czech František Danda each with a top and a zone.

Women's final: Tough and exciting until the very end

In the women's final, the slabby, coordination-intensive first boulder problem ideally divided the strong field. Afra Hönig achieved the fastest top on her second attempt, closely followed by Anna Maria Apel and Jakoba Rauter on their third attempts. Anna Lechner In her second German Cup final of the season, she managed to achieve a top on the W1 in eight attempts.

All but one of the finalists managed to overcome the first crux of the second women's boulder, which also required coordination. Arina Jurcenko from the Czech Republic, the winner of the last event in Berlin, managed to master the challenge. However, the following sequence – a long move from a poor right heel hook – proved too difficult for all the athletes. W2 thus remained the only boulder of the evening to go untopped.

On the powerful, rather traditional boulder W3, it looked for a long time as if the same fate would befall him – because even the experienced Afra Hönig failed on the final difficult move to the edge. Then, in the very last go of the evening, Anna Maria Apel sealed the deal and, as the only woman with two tops, secured the victory.

Overall, the fifth German Cup of the season saw an above-average number of flashes and tops among the men. At the same time, as was the case at the Dortmund opener and most recently at the Berta Block, at least one final boulder remained untopped – in this case, for the women. In the livestream, co-commentator Alex Megos succinctly summarized the route-setting: "A bit too easy for the men, a bit too hard for the women – and yet, in the end, a reasonable separation."

Changes in the overall ranking

Am current overall ranking The recent BLOCKHELDEN event in Erlangen has only had a limited impact on the current 2025/26 German Cup season. The current top three in both the women's and men's categories are still held by athletes who weren't even present this past weekend: Alma Bestvater, Ronja Witt, and Marie Koepler, as well as Thorben Perry Bloem, Yannick Flohé, and Jan Hojer.

At the same time, something is happening in the overall top 10: With their third final appearance of the season, they move up. Hannah Hattenbach Currently ranked 4th overall, followed by Czech athlete Arina Jurcenko in 5th place. Anna Maria Apel and Afra Hönig have also moved into the overall top 9 thanks to their podium finishes. Among the men, all finalists from Erlangen – with the exception of František Danda – have also secured places in the current top 10.

The next and penultimate German Cup of the season will take place on February 28th at Studio Bloc Wiesbaden instead. The final cup will then take place on April 11th at Element Munich, before on The season finale will take place on June 13th and 14th at Studio Bloc Funkstadt. pending.

Next stop: Frankenjura Academy

There's no long break (or onward journey) for the participants of the Techniker Boulder Bundesliga. The next kick-off event will take place... already this Saturday, the 7. February Instead – just a few kilometers away at the Frankenjura Academy in Forchheim. Jacob Gorbunow from the Boulder Bundesliga is also satisfied: "The German Cup itself went extremely well. We received a lot of good feedback from the athletes."

As usual, the venues alternate between those hosting the German Cup and those not. In Alex Megos' second home, a spectacular final awaits, due to space constraints alone, but in any case, exciting boulder problems are guaranteed for the first, second, and third divisions.

Livestream: Final of the 5th German Cup (31.01.2026)

In the live stream from Saturday evening – streamed and co-moderated by Alex Megos – you can watch the 5th German Cup of the season again.

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