Condie and Mawem Dominate in Finals at the Bloc Shop Open
The Bloc Shop Open finals took place this past Sunday in Montreal, and they did not disappoint. There were not a lot of tops but there was lots of excitement! As commentators Pete Woods and Phil Lanthier pointed out, even without tops, there was still a lot of climbing to watch. There was progress from one competitor to the next and there was variety in the way the problems were climbed. There were dramatic falls and dramatic finishes. All these factors helped make a superb couple of hours of competition climbing. This is a credit to the setters, as well as the climbers.
Last year’s winner, Melissa Le Nevé, put up a great fight; she made the first top of women’s problem one with dynamic flare, and finished number two with an impressive lock-off. She fell behind a little in the 2nd half of the round but ended up with a still-impressive 3rd place behind Petra Klingler. Klingler’s heartbreak fall on boulder two was made up for by her send of boulder four, aka ‘the wedding cake problem,’ which was a show of power and determination.
But the evening clearly belonged to Kyra Condie, who finished all four problems with relative ease, including two flashes. It was truly a remarkable performance. Condie skillfully negotiated the awkward ‘wedding cake’ volumes on problem four, which was only sent by her and Petra Klingler. Her send of boulder three was perhaps the most impressive, as she hiked this problem that no other competitor finished.
As it was for the women, one competitor dominated men’s finals: Mickaël (aka Mika) Mawem. Last year’s winner was simply on fire as he demonstrated his classic dynamic style and strength but also his technical ability. Mawem topped three (almost four) problems, while only one other finalist managed a single top. When asked about his incredible performance, Mawem explained that he feels he has “found the flow [trans]” in his climbing. That was sure evident to everyone who watched.
Jorg Vanhoeven earned his second place with his superb technical climbing on men’s three. Climbing first in the rotation, Vanhoeven’s send wasn’t fully appreciated until the other climbers, save Mawem, failed to complete it.
Aside from the top two spots, the competition for the men came down to zones and attempts to zone. But this did not mean a lack of excitement. Bloc Shop climber Sébastien Lazure was bumped off the podium at the final hour, when Nathaniel Coleman stuck the zone on his last attempt on problem four, when the timer had run out.
If you missed this not-to-be-missed event, you can watch the reply here.
Final Results Women/Men
1. Krya Condie / Mika Mawem
2. Petra Klingler / Jorg Verhoeven
3. Melissa Le Nevé / Nathaniel Coleman
4. Katharina Saurwein / Seb Lazure
5. Alyssa Weber / Falco Filotto
6. Norah Chi / Raymond Hansen
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