Gérôme Pouvreau

N/K: Then you continued playing in both playgrounds? Was this just for fun?
GP: In a way, for me all types of rock climbing, natural bouldering and competition are fun.

N/K: Lead / Boulder, what do you like the most?
GP: I like climbing so I like both. But it's true that I recently discovered the friendliness of bouldering, and as I'm a jack of all trades, I quickly caught the virus.

N/S: You look well built, have you changed your training?
GP: I think I am well built for bouldering. And you need strength as well to succeed in extreme routes. Roughly, I didn't have to change the way I climbed.

N/K: Is your victory fruit of specific training or of practice more based on pleasure ?
GP: It's true that my training is based on pleasure, I have no rigid planning and I only do what I really enjoy. This winter I did a lot of boulder because it has me "tripping", and it was so cold at the crags. Before this competition, I climbed routes during 3 weeks and I ticked a lot, so when I arrived in Rovereto, I had fangs reaching the floor.

N/K: In resistance climbing, is your favourite style short or long routes?
GP: Rather short, but I talk about resistance of course! In fact, I don't like shaking the arms.

N/K: Tell me, climbing competitions are not really endurance, right? Trailmakers don't like guys resting for hours on a hold?
GP: I would say it's long resistance, but not endurance, because a good lactic climber should be able to rest on poor holds. But it's obvious trailmakers try to make climbers move forward. Routes that are too much endurance typed are boring, nothing happens?

N/K : The bouldering competition rules changed this year. In your opinion, what is good and bad about this?
GP: New rules are nice for public and climbers. Finally, you get more rest between the problems, as a consequence the effort is more based on pure power: it's more bouldering than resistance. In addition, you really feel the presence of the audience who can now focus on two or just one climber. On the other hand, only 6 boys and girls reach the final and a single mistake in the semi-final will turn you into spectator.

N/K: Multi-purpose climbers were proper at François Petit's era, do you think that this trend is back?
GP: I think polyvalent climbing is in decline. In competition the trend is towards specialisation in one field : lead or boulder, maybe due to the fact that the competition seasons become longer year after year. But also because of the level of the current leaders, it seems quite difficult to win in both.

N/K: Angela Eiter and Tomas Mrazek decided to compete in both lead and boulder circuits. They seem to do quite well. Do you think they can make the double?
GP: It's true that a lactic climber on the podium of a bouldering WC looks messy! Concerning guys, it seems very difficult because the season is so long. To win the boulder WC people need to be polyvalent, it means being strong in every style, styles that are generally pushed to the extremes.

N/K: And do you think that THE power is the prime element for climbing high difficulties?
GP: That's for sure! You need a strong base of power to climb hard routes.

N/K: Ok, you're in the top ten but the first time I saw you, you had old shoes with holes in them [it was at Jurassic Park]. Is your situation better now? Why, what changed?
GP: My bank account evolved, but it's not Zizou's one [Zinedine Zidane]? After a few good results and some ticks outside I got some sponsor deals. Now I can live through climbing, and this is not everyone´s option?

N/K: Will you return to lead competitions?
GP: Maybe but not yet, simply because I don´t wan´t too.  Right now, I am focusing on bouldering?

N/K: The Charente region and the Alps don't have the same meaning in the consciousness of climbers. Do you think that the addition of the qualifying "maritime" changed things for those who would like to start climbing?
GP: Gasp, Charente maritime, it reminds me of good memories! The time when, every morning when I woke up, I was looking through the window in case boulders would have sprouted. We were climbing on anything and everything. We had no crag but we were climbing like beasts on resin. To succeed in a flat country, people have to believe in oneself. I made every effort to get the highest level. Grandma told me "better be mad from La Rochelle than lazy from Savoie".