Garnbret unbeatable also in Villars

On the second World Cup lead climbing event in Swiss Villars, the Slovenian anthem resounded again. Janja Garnbret convincingly won for the second time in a row in the evening final on July 16, 2016, while Urban Primožič celebrated fifth place, equaling his best World Cup result. The other Slovenian favorites Mina Markovič and Domen Škofic ended the competition in the tricky semi-final.



After the opening lead World Cup competition, where on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic thrilled with a double Slovenian victory, the sport climbing caravan moved to Villars in Switzerland. Friday's qualifiers were followed on Saturday, July 16, by the semi-final and final, in which Janja Garnbret (Šaleški AO), unbeatable for the second time in a row, and Urban Primožič (PK Škofja Loka), who equaled his best World Cup placement with fifth place, represented Slovenian colors.



The tricky semi-final route kept many favorites for top places out of the final, including Slovenians Domen Škofic (ŠPO PD Radovljica) and Mina Markovič (ŠPK Plus), who disappointedly finished 13th and 15th respectively; Markovič for the first time in years without a final appearance. Rebeka Kamin (AO PD Domžale) equaled her best World Cup result with 17th place, while Martin Bergant (PK Škofja Loka) ended in qualifiers at 33rd place.



Janja Garnbret, the most successful already after qualifiers and semi-final, climbed convincingly in the final too, masterfully handled the selective move near the top of the final route that stopped the top four competitors, and on the wings of the cheering crowd "flew" almost to the top. "I can't believe I won again! The route was incredible and I enjoyed every moment in it," smiled the unstoppable young Carinthian, who has stood on the podium at all World Cup events she has competed in so far, and this season - judging by the first two events - has started very victoriously. Second and third places, just like in Chamonix four days ago, went to Belgian Anak Verhoeven and South Korean Jain Kim.



Urban Primožič climbed excellently in his fifth career final, improving his semi-final placement by three spots to finish fifth. "Since I qualified for the final in eighth place, I could compete relaxed. The route looked demanding from the start on inspection. I was a bit tense in the beginning, but relaxed in the middle. I climbed without major mistakes and gave my all at the end. I'm very satisfied with the final fifth place," said the Škofja Loka native, equaling his best World Cup result. In the men's competition, Canadian Sean McColl won, followed by Japanese Keiichiro Korenaga in second and French Thomas Joannes in third.



"Another incredible final behind us. Janja won suverely for the second time in a row, Urban repeated his best World Cup success with fifth place and proved he can compete with the world's best. The semi-final routes were quite tricky and many fell into the setters' traps. Our girls made a slightly wrong read and so Rebeka and especially Mina finished climbing too early, as they climbed excellently until the mistake. It was similar with the boys and Domen couldn't show how well prepared he is this time, which he hinted at in Chamonix and these qualifiers where he was first. We're heading home tomorrow. Next weekend we're going with a larger team to the next event in French Briançon. The team atmosphere is great and we can't wait for the competitions to continue," summarized the head coach of the Slovenian sport climbing team Gorazd Hren.



The next World Cup lead event awaits the climbers on July 22 and 23 in Briançon (France). After a short break, events follow in Imst (Austria) on August 19 and 20, Arco (Italy) on August 26 and 27, Xiamen (China) on October 22 and 23, and to end the season on November 26 and 27 in home Kranj (Slovenia). The sport climbing elite will also compete this year at the World Championships (lead and bouldering) from September 14 to 18 in Paris (France).