With the impressive backdrop of Mont Blanc in the background and in front of several thousand spectators, the Austrian Jessica Pilz secured for the first time a gold medal at an IFSC World Cup. For the men it was the Italian Stefano Ghisolfi who was at the top of the podium.
The women's competition in Chamonix ended with a surprise. First of all, the usual suspects - Janja Garnbret (SLO), Anak Verhoeven (BEL), Jessica Pilz (AUT) and Jain Kim (KOR) - competed for the role of favorites. Among them was the bouldering world cup leader, Akiyo Noguchi (JPN). In 2014, Pilz stood on the podium at a Lead World Cup for the very first time, but it had never quite been enough for a gold medal. In Chamonix she surprised the enthusiastic audience with an impressive performance in the final, when she was the only one to climb the route to the top. With this she secured her first World Cup victory and pushed Janja Garnbret to second place. Third place went to Korean Jain Kim.
Even with the men, only one could make it to the top
In the final route, the route builders again showed a good sense of the right difficulty. Persistent and strong, with dynamic moves and a technical sequence in the last few meters, the route screwed upwards. Alex Megos easily climbed over the exhausting overhang and reached the plate-like sequence that led to the completion of the route. In a crusade of two small bars but then he missed the right kick and he did not bring enough momentum to reach the next grip. So he crashed only a few moves in front of the top grip in the rope. Jakob Schubert, who was the last to start, made two more moves, pushing Megos back one place. Finally, Stefano Ghisolfi was the only one who held in front of the huge crowd the top grip of the final route in his hand. With this achievement, the Italian secured his fourth overall gold medal at a Lead World Cup.
Video of the highlights of the Lead World Cup in Chamonix
—
Credits: Pictures Eddie Fowke / IFSC, text provided