Since the Boulder World Championship in 2007, when we got the first upside-down final result in comparison with the semifinal starting order, I have been addressing the problem. In fact, it has been like this for all the following four World Championships and the 2016 circuit started out in the same way. One possible explanation for this, beside increased pressure for the one who is starting last and worse friction, could be the fact that the early starters often get more valuable resting time. Let us say that nobody does the first boulder but all the competitors do the second one. In this case, the first guy out will have some 24 minutes of rest after that first hard boulder before trying the second one. At the same time, the last one out will probably have just some 12 minutes of resting time. It is clearly a big disadvantage for the winner of the semifinal. If it is the other way around, easy first problem and then a super hard second Boulder, the first guy out will probably have just about 12 minutes rest before starting the second problem. At the same time, the last guy out will have some 24 minutes of rest. Clearly, there is an advantage but as the both guys did not spend that much energy working the first problem for the full 4+ minutes, the resting time is not that important. It would be hard work, but with the final videos available, possibly there could be made a study showing that there is a correlation between who gets the most valuable resting time and who wins.

Felipe Camargo and Alex Honnold have done the first repeat of Dani Andrada's amazing eight pitches in Getu Valley; 8a+, 8b, 7c+, 7a, 8b+, 8c, 7c+, 8a+. (c) Jimmy Chin - We worked on it for five days, cleaning the route cause it was really dirty and figuring out the moves and just working on the pitches. Later we did it on our first respectively serious push from the ground. Best thing I've ever climbed in my life! A real gem from Dani Andrada! Incredible effort and vision bolting this thing!

Last week we reported that Drew Ruana started his trip in Red River Gorge by doing one 8c+ and an 8c. During the last three days he was in an onsight mode, which he proved with five 8a+ to 8b+ onsights, including Omaha Beach. Furthermore, the 16-year-old has also done Lucifer 8c+ in just four tries.

As we are finalizing the new scorecard pages some members report that they have had log-in problems. We are working on it just now. If you still have problems on Monday, send an email to [email protected] and we will send you a new password.

Is it not strange that during the qualification and semifinal in Boulder World Cups, the athletes have only five minutes to rest? Just compare it to 10 - 25 minutes of resting time in the final. It is like having two different kinds of formats and challenges in one competition. In the first two rounds, the guys with the best endurance are picked out but in the final, the power is much more challenged. It is like saying that first we take the best from running 1 500 meters but in the final they only run 800 meters. Please read below about a new format suggestion with 12-minute-long rest in the qualification and the semi, which would make these challenges as similar to the final one as possible.

The finalists with the qualification results in brackets: Tyler Landman (9), Alban Levier (3), Alexey Rubtsov (5), Jakob Schubert (15), Jorge Verhoeven (13) and Martin Stranik (19) Janja Garnbret (9), Clementine Kaiser (15), Melissa Le Neve (1), Megan Mascarenas (3), Akiyo Noguchi (1) and Shauna Coxsey (5) Complete results

During the start and the end of the semifinal there is only one climber on the wall, which means a lot of waiting and less action for the spectators. It would be easy to let the first four start at the same time on the first four boulders and then we could have two more groups before the first four moves to their next respective boulder. This would mean that instead of giving the athletes 12 minutes of rest in between trying about 30 times on four boulders, they would have 8 * 3 minutes rest. An advantage for longer rest is that the competitors do not have to be so strategical saving energy during their four minutes sessions and it will be more a Bouldering challenge than an endurance one. Power will be more important! Such format would also make it possible to increase the semifinal to Top-24 and to shorten its duration to 96 minutes instead of 104 minutes for Top-20. Do you think we need more action and more rest for the athletes?

The French team has been on a training camp in Cuenca and they seem to be in a great shape as both Gauthier Supper, #2 in WC 2015, and Romain Desgranges, #6, did El Intento 9a. In fact, Desgranges did the 30-metre-long route in just three attempts, which took him an hour. So does that mean that you could do a 9a+ in some tries and a 9b after some projecting? Probably!

The first Boulder World Cup highlighted the fact that it seems hard to win starting last in the final. Tyler Landman and Janja Garnbret won the semifinal in great style, and especially Janja was just superior, but in the final Tyler was last and Janja second-last without having done a single Boulder. Final starting order in brackets. 1. Alexey Rubtsov (4) - Shauna Coxsey (1) 2. Martin Stranik (1) -Melissa Le Neve (4) 3. Jorg Verhoeven (2) - Megan Mascarenas (2) 4. Alban Levier (5)- Akiyo Noguchi (3) 5. Jakob Schubert (3)- Janja Garnbret (6) 6. Tyler Landman (6) - Clementine Kaiser (5) Complete results Interesting is that Alexey only participated in one World Cup last year, and he won. In 2009, he won the World Championship when he was #6 in the semifinal, i.e. first out in the final.

I follow a strict training scheme but I don't know how many rest days I should take and how to prepare on the scene and just before going for my project? Everyone and all projects are unique so there is no universal rule. I would say that 2-3 resting days are optimal where you can stretch, run, etc. On the actual day, try to warm up using the same type of climbing and holds. Hang-dog the route and make sure you are fully recruited but do not push so as not to get pumped. You can start the warming up process at home including possibly hang-board exercises and stretching. Before climbing, possibly ask your friends to help you remind you certain things you might forget like breathing, chalking, resting etc. In the last minute, go into your bubble and set your focus on enjoying the fight and going for a personal best instead of just visualizing clipping the top. An old article with 10 redpoint tips. Thanks for all questions. Please keep sending them to [email protected].