Roberto Podio has done Tomorrowland L2 in Collepardo suggesting an upgrade to 9a. Laura Rogora made the FA last autumn when she was just 15 years old. "In February, I did Grandi Gesti, my first 9a, and yesterday I finally did Tomorrowland. I cannot express an opinion with certainty about the grade of these two routes because I don’t have experience at this level, but I can make a comparison and say without doubts that I found the second one far more difficult." Interestingly, the 36 year old set a 8c personal best last year and then he skipped one grade and has done potentially two 9a's in 2017. The simple explanation could be that he previously had done his routes within some 25 tries but for his 9a's, he used 58 respectively 77 tries.

Three current best females have topped the first three routes in Briancon meaning that who climbs faster will decide who wins if they are tied also in the final. Among the males, only one hold separated the first eleven best meaning count back decided who made it to the final. It was obvious that the male route was way too easy in the start. Complete results The Live-streaming starts 20:00.

If any of Anak Verhoeven, Janja Garnbret or Jain Kim get the same final scoring, they will be tied by who climbed the fastest. However, for the spectators as well as for the commentators it is very hard to know, "who is in the lead" after they have climbed half the routes. In practice, if there is a top before Garnbret starts, it will be hard to compare her time up on the route and some excitement will be lost. Further more, if nobody tops but Garnbret came to the same hold, it might take some time before the spectators and the commentators will understand who won. The best solution for giving instant results as well as increasing excitement would be to add some split-times that would be visible. Once Garnbret gets to hold #10, 20, 30 and 40 etc, a ranking can be showed meaning that if they time on hold 42+, the split time on hold 40 could decide who won.

Romain Desgranges took his third big victory by winning in Briancon. The French started competing among the seniors 15 years ago but had hard times to get even close to the semifinal. Throughout a steady continous progress he was #3 overall last year and already midways in the season he has taken a big lead overall. Runner up was Sean McColl who previously have hard time performing at his normal podium level. It should also be noted that there were no ties in the male final so great work from the route setters. Complete results (c) Eddie Fowke - The Circuit Climbing

Flash is a great harness innovation from CAMP at 235 grams and still it is comfortable while giving you the optimal freedom of movement. The other day I used it for bolting and at the end I used if for the full day bolting as it was comfortable enough. Here is the explanation. "Load Webbing construction with structural longitudinal threads that allow for a wider cross section for greater support without the added weight of traditional webbing. The construction allows for a significant reduction in the number of stitch points to minimize the profile and maximize comfort and safety. With the Flash, we have also integrated 3 mm of padding adhered directly to the webbing for increased comfort." The innovative construction also means that you can squeeze it together in a very small bag that fits in a jacket pocket or so. Further more, the Speed-buckle is working really great. The only down side we have found is that you can not adjust the straps at the back and they felt pretty long but possibly that was because we, 65 kilo guys, tried a medium one.

Belmez Face presents this revolutionary product to carry your crashpad while you hike to a far away bouldering crag or just to join a few pads if you're going climbing alone to a problem with a bad landing. You can join up to 3 pads or put it together to a 90L backpack and one pad for a long weekend in the mountains. The Padbacker is build on Cordura 1000 fabric with a big pocket for chalkbag and a pair of shoes. Also two 1.70m nylon slings conect the Padbacker with two duraluminium buckles at the end, getting a perfect adjust in both sides. And you can use it with any crashpad brands. You can get it the website by just 26'90 EUR. As the 90% of Belmez Face products, it is handmade in Madrid.

The fourth stage of the Lead WC starts today and the semifinal will be streamed live on Friday 19.30 and the final on Saturday also 19.30. Go to www.ifsc-climbing.org. Updated results