Swiss Dominance in Domžale

Swiss dominance in Domžale, Maja Šuštar fourth, Katja Brunec sixth.



The Swiss, led by Sina Goetz and Nikolay Primerov, almost completely filled the podium of the second round of the 2018 European Cup (EC) in ice climbing in the lead discipline on December 1 in Domžale. Eight Slovenes also competed in front of the home crowd. The most successful was fourth-placed Maja Šuštar, also the overall winner of the 6th Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian (SHS) Ice Climbing Cup, Katja Brunec took sixth place, and Slovenia celebrated in the SHS Cup nations' cup.



The 2018 European Ice Climbing Cup began on November 24 in Swiss Bern, and for the second round in Domžale, 31 competitors from 12 countries sharpened their ice axes and crampons: Czech Republic, Finland, France, Croatia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Switzerland, and even Canada. The Domžale event, organized under the auspices of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) and the sponsorship of the Municipality of Domžale by the Domžale Mountaineering Association and the Mountaineering Sports Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), was also the final round of the 6th open Slovenian-Croatian-Serbian (SHS) Ice Climbing Cup.



In the women's competition, Swiss climber Sina Goetz performed best in the very attractive route for spectators, touching the top of the final route with her ice axe and leaving her second-placed compatriot Vivien Labarile behind, with Frenchwoman Marion Thomas third. Just below the podium, Slovenian Maja Šuštar (AO Domžale) finished the Domžale competition, stopped on her way to the top by an unsolvable puzzle of moving ice barrels and a wooden ice candle. "This year the competition was a bit less fierce, we missed some of last year's EC finalists including winner Angelika Rainer, so qualifying for the final wasn't as demanding as reaching the podium, which I didn't manage, that's for next year. The difficult part was transitioning over the ice barrels; during route reading, I thought I'd move from the first barrel to a hold, but once there, I realized it wouldn't work. I decided on improvisation, but I didn't have it planned in my head and couldn't proceed. I'm satisfied with today's performance in that I gave it my all, I notice progress mainly at the technical level, but I could improve my conditioning preparation too, though I have a wide range of activities, I'm also interested in sport climbing and mountains, which I combine with work and family life," assessed the climber from the Tuhinj Valley, winner of the final round of the 6th SHS Cup in Domžale and overall winner in the Balkan competition for the second year in a row: "The girls in the SHS Cup have progressed a lot, my main rival Katarina Manovski from Serbia and I had very even battles this year, which is good motivation going forward."



The second Slovenian finalist, Katja Brunec (AO Kranj), a newcomer to competitive ice climbing, climbed to sixth place. "I like climbing with ice axes, both drytooling and on ice, which I've been doing for about three years. That's how I met Slovenian competitors who invited me to competitions. The competition is very strong for me, as I've only competed in two SHS Cup rounds and this was my first European Cup, I had no expectations, so I'm of course very satisfied, but most importantly, I really enjoyed the competition in Domžale," summed up the Kranj native, who finished the SHS Cup overall second. Nadja Korinšek (AO Trbovlje) also competed in the women's category, taking ninth place in the EC and fourth overall in the SHS Cup.



In the men's competition, the Swiss shared the podium, with Nikolay Primerov, originally Russian, taking the highest step; he was third in Domžale last year. "I felt good and climbed accordingly. Janez set excellent routes, quite technical and long, so I really enjoyed climbing," the competitor smiled, who helped create an exceptional Swiss team success with five podium placements: "Switzerland has a strong team, they're young but gaining experience, I'm probably the most experienced, but the others are very strong too, above all we enjoy it. We've competed in the World Cup for a few seasons now, and we're reaping the rewards of our work." Swiss Lukas Goetz took second place, also reaching the top like the winner but taking more time, and his compatriot Alexander Werren took third.



Unfortunately, the men's final had no Slovenian representatives, but in qualifications, Vili Guček (AS Špaltna Hrastnik) achieved the best placement, 11th in the European Cup and second in the SHS Cup. Edvin Nepužlan (AO Železničar) was 14th in the EC and third in the SHS Cup, both in the final round and overall. Miha Habjan (Academic AO) achieved 15th in the European competition, Tine Cuder (AO Bovec) 17th, and Tom Turšič (BricAlp Škofja Loka) 22nd. Jaka Hrast (AO Domžale), considered the Slovenian favorite, ended the EC competition in 19th place after an unfortunate performance. "Probably expectations were a bit too high before the home competition, as I finished qualifications first in Bern last time, but made a beginner's mistake in the final and was eighth. In Domžale, I started a bit headlessly and unexpectedly slipped off a hold," said the Kamnik native, also the highest-placed Slovenian in the SHS Cup: "There were only three SHS Cup rounds this year, my colleague Mario Musulin from Croatia and I were tied, so today's competition decided the winner, but I'm satisfied with second place. Progress really showed this year because Edvin and I approached training systematically and we're really grateful to Dejan (Miškovič, ed.), who helped us. But now different mistakes happen than last year when strength ran out, so we still need to adjust our heads a bit."



On December 8, a larger Slovenian team will compete in the third European Cup round in Slovakia, which will conclude with the final in Finland on March 3 next year, with World Cup events in between where the most successful Slovenian competitors will also face the strongest competition.



The chief route setter was again Škofja Loka native Janez Svoljšak this year, Slovenia's most successful ice climber, who in 2016 achieved the first (and so far only) Slovenian World Cup ice climbing victory in the lead category and also won the 2016 European championship title: "It couldn't have been better. In women, we almost reached the top, there was a touch, in men two tops but almost two minutes difference between them, so everyone placed very well." The final routes truly textbook-decided the final rankings, and spectators at the base of the climbing wall on the parking garage in Domžale enjoyed breathtaking climbing acrobatics. "The competition was even better than last year, routes were more climbable, competitors placed nicer, it was the prototype of a good competition, from the competitors' and fans' perspective—who cheered for all competitors—and also organizationally. Already last year UIAA rated the Domžale event far better than the others in the European Cup, this year I think it's again at World Cup level, not just European," was enthusiastic Andrej Pečjak, PZS representative in the UIAA Ice Climbing Commission and UIAA international ice climbing judge, and race director Matej Ogorevc, head of AO Domžale, was also satisfied: "I must praise the teamwork, about 30 people collaborated in the organization, each had their task and without them, an important piece of the mosaic would be missing."



Results of the Domžale 2018 European Ice Climbing Cup round

women - 9 competitors men - 22 competitors



1. Sina Goetz (SUI)

2. Vivien Labarile (SUI)

3. Marion Thomas (FRA)

4. Maja Šuštar (SLO)

5. Coralie Jary (FRA)

6. Katja Brunec (SLO)

7. Aneta Loužecka (CZE)

8. Katarina Manovski (SRB)

9. Nadja Korinšek (SLO)



1. Nikolay Primerov (SUI)

2. Lukas Goetz (SUI)

3. Alexander Werren (SUI)

4. Tomo Vilinger (SUI)

5. Mario Musulin (CRO)

6. Etiene Poteaux (FRA)

7. Pierrick Fine (FRA)

8. Veli-Matti Laasonen (FIN)

...

11. Vili Guček (SLO)

14. Edvin Nepužlan (SLO)

15. Miha Habjan (SLO)

17. Tine Cuder (SLO)

19. Jaka Hrast (SLO)

22. Tom Turšič (SLO)