Teva Performance

The first ever bouldering World Cup held in the United States has came and went. LVM was there to report directly to you, the climbing world. Climbers were giving it their all and it was inspirational to witness such perfection. The semi-finals started at 1:00 P.M. Climbers were given six minutes for each problem. The problems held moves for all different styles of climbing. The route setting was superb as countless complements from the competitors and the crowd were heard. Kudos to the IFSC for such artistry.
Out of the 22 men and 20 women, only six from each field could advance to the finals. Two surprises happened when Lisa Rands and Chris Sharma did not advance. Both are true masters of the sport and anyone can learn from watching either of them climb. That certainly did not mean that America would not be represented in the finals. Three women and two men pulled through. The finalist were:

The women finalist

Women

1. Alex Johnson USA
2. Anna Stohr AUT
3. Alex Puccio USA
4. Katharina Saurwein AUT
5. Tiffany Hensley USA
6. Vera Zijilstra NED

The men finalist

Men

1. Kilian Fischhuber AUT
2. Paul Robinson USA
3. Gabriele Moroni ITA
4. Tyler Landman GBR
5. Gerome Pouvreau FRA
6. Daniel Woods USA

Finals:

Women

1. Alex Johnson USA
2. Katharine Saurwein AUT
3. Anna Stohr AUT

Men

1. Kilian Fishchhuber AUT
2. Gabriele Moroni ITA
3. Paul Robinson USA

For full coverage, tune in to lvmrock in the near future. Click on the play icon to witness the world’s best boulderers in the first ever bouldering World Cup held on American Soil.

LVM Rock was on the scene for the first ever bouldering World Cup competition held on American soil. On June 6, 2008 climbers came from all over the world to beautiful Vail Colorado to try to qualify for the semi-finals. From there, is one more step to the finals where the prize for first place is over $3000 and the title of world’s best boulderer. This is a very significant step for American climbing. Historically the bouldering world has been dominated by the Europeans.
The rules for the competition are as follows: There are four problems for men and women respectively. Climbers get five minutes per problem. The highest score is awarded for a flash. (This is when the climber sends the problem on the very first try.) There are bonus holds on each problem that, if touched, the climber is awarded more points. Climbers rotate in on five minute intervals. After one five minute go, the contestants rest for five minutes and then go to the next problem. While resting, the climbers must look away from the wall so they can not gain an advantage by watching others. The scores are combined and the top 20 advance on to the semi-finals held the next day.
The competition was fierce. Boulderers of all different body sizes attempted very difficult problems one after the other. Tempers flared and emotions were high as the event rolled on. These are the best of the best and they were certainly putting it on the line.

The competition wall

Gerome Pouvreau was looking strong as he came in sixth. He was one of four French climbers to advance to the semi-finals.

Gerome Pouvreau in classic form

Alex Johnson of USA finished the day in first place. Four American women will join her in the semi-finals.

American climber between problems

Cecile Avezou was looking very confident. She has a precise style that is really fun to watch. She finished up the day in 12th place. She will be joined by two other french climbers in the next round.

Cecile Avezou demonstrates perfection

The results for the qualification round are as follows:

Women Qualifier

1. Alex Johnson USA
2. Anne-Laure Chevrier FRA
3. Chloe Graftiaux BEL
4. Anna Stohr AUT
5. Alex Puccio USA
6. Charlotte Jouett USA
6. Vera Zijlstra NED
8. Katja Vidmar SLO
9. Tiffany Hensley USA
10. Asher Elizabeth USA
11. Natalija Gros SLO
12. Cecile Avezou FRA
12. Lisa Rands USA
14. Thirza Carpenter CAN
14. Angelica Lind SWE
16. Katharina Saurwein AUT
17. Victoria Weldon CAN
17. Silvie Rajfova CZE
19. Maud Ansade FRA
19. Erin Ford-Zieleniewski CAN

Men Qualifier

1. Paul Robinson USA
2. Gabriele Moroni ITA
3. Chris Sharma USA
4. Tyler Landman GBR
4. Kilian Fischhuber AUT
6. Gerome Pouvreau FRA
7. Michele Caminati ITA
8. Jerome Meyer FRA
9. Jonas Baumann GER
10. Daniel Woods USA
11. Wouter Jongeneelen NED
12. Sean McColl CAN
13. Carlo Traversi USA
14. Mark Hobson USA
15. David Lama AUT
16. Keita Mogaki JPN
16. Remo Sommer SUI
18. Kyle Owen USA
19. Julien Meral FRA
20. Martin Stranik CZE
20. Pierre Duroche FRA
20. Christian Core ITA

Click on the play icon below to watch some of the action.