Tour de Bloc and Kranj World Cup Preview

This weekend, the Tour de Bloc and the Kranj World Cup will be be taking place and top Canadian climbers will be at each.

The fifth stop of the 2015/16 Tour de Bloc will be at Rock Jungle in Edmonton. Last year, Jason Holowach and Stacey Weldon took first place at Rock Jungle. For more info, visit here.

The 2015 IFSC World Cup season will wrap up in Kranj, Slovenia, with a Lead competition. A classic of the IFSC Lead World Cup circuit, Kranj will once again be the determining factor in the IFSC Lead World Cup rankings 2015 and the last chance for our athletes to taste World Cup glory this year. Two Canadians, Sean McColl, who finished second last year in Kranj, and Elan Jonas- McRae will be competing in Slovenia.

One month after the last IFSC Lead World Cup in Wujiang, China, the world’s best Lead climbers are returning to Europe for one final competition and one last chance to lay it all on the line for a World Cup medal. The IFSC Lead World Cup rankings 2015 are very close and the results of this last competition will determine the Lead World Cup Champions 2015. With the title at stake in both categories, the 2015 IFSC World Cup season’s grand finale will definitely be riveting.

In the men’s Lead field, four climbers are less than 40 points apart in the Lead World Cup ranking 2015. With two gold medals to his name so far this season, Gautier Supper (FRA) currently leads the Lead World Cup ranking 2015 with 400 points. On his heels, Adam Ondra (CZE) is second with 390 points, Jakob Schubert (AUT) is third with 378 points and Domen Skofic (SLO) is fourth with 362 points.

All these athletes have won at least one IFSC Lead World Cup this season, and they all look like very serious contenders for the title. Fresh from his victory in Wujiang and from a 5.15b first ascent in southern France that only took him a coup particularly great shape at the moment. Yet, anything can happen during a competition and he knows it. The race for the Lead World Cup title has never been so close and at this point, it can be anyone’s game in Kranj.

Can Mina Markovic take back the title? The women’s podiums have seen only two competitors on top so far this season: Mina Markovic (SLO) and Jain Kim (KOR) with three gold medals each. The two are now ranked first and second respectively and their legendary rivalry will once again reach an apex in Kranj as they compete for the title Mina Markovic has not won the IFSC Lead World Cup ranking since 2012, and she stands a good chance of taking back the title this year. She has a history of doing very well in front of her home crowd, and Jain Kim will have to climb her absolute best to defend her title.

Another climber to watch out for in Kranj is Jessica Pilz (AUT), who is currently ranked third. Verhoeven (BEL), who is still in the running for the Lead World Cup 2015 bronze position. It will all come down to this last IFSC World Cup for these top One competition, three podiums As always, the IFSC World Cup season will end in Kranj with three podiums in each category (male and female), for a total of six winners.

There will be one podium for the IFSC Lead World Cup Kranj 2015, one podium for the IFSC Lead World Cup Ranking 2015, and one podium for the IFSC World Cup Combined Ranking 2015. Adam Ondra and Jain Kim currently lead the combined ranking competition is fierce, with grab a podium spot.

Watch the finals from the 2014 finals in Kranj:

– Gripped will be LIVE streaming the Kranj finals and semi-finals, here.