Lukas Sager ticks Mr Big (9a)

Lukas Sager has completed Tom Bolger’s Mr. Big (9a) in Margalef. The 19-year-old did his first 9a already in 2022.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your ”loose rock” tag?
I tried it at the beginning of the year. At the end of the first day, I fell on the last hard move before the endurance section. I came back to Margalef, just over a week ago. I knew it was only a matter of time before I sent it. Margalef has a very atypical rock, a conglomerate that you don't see anywhere else, but unfortunately, it's quite crumbly. In many places you have to reinforce the holds to make it hold and sometimes, despite all the care, they break under your fingers. Mr.Big is one of these routes. I broke a crimp and 4 feet myself. When there's a high level of humidity in the air, the risk that the holds will break is really high on this type of route, but it's still one of the King lines and I recommend it to competition climbers because it reflects the style of competition. Dynamic movements on pretty good holds. Being able to do Mr.Big brought back memories and motivated me to do more outside climbing like I used to during the COVID or when I lived in Austria, but unfortunately the current competition circuit is very hard to combine with outdoor climbing.

What is next?
After the competition season I'd like to try out some of the futuristic lines I'd equipped a few years ago, climb some of the multi-pitch that are close to my heart. And come back here one day and do the real projects.

What was your best comp result last year and what is your comp plans in 2025?
Last year, I finished 7th in the French U20 Championship. Honestly, it was a real underperformance; I was hoping for much better. The last few years have been very difficult for me mentally, for the past 3 years, I've been training in Voiron, France, almost every day. I've dedicated my whole life to competitions. During training, I feel really strong, but when I get to the competition, I lose all my abilities and find myself at 50% of my capacity instead of 150%. This year, due to personal problems, I decided to participate in the senior qualifier on March 15th without training intensively for it. And afterward, I'll decide whether to continue the season or not. Don't get me wrong, I love competition, I'll do it for almost my entire life. But as a climber, I still have plenty of things to discover that I haven't done yet and that I would like to try. And instead of going through another year that will exhaust me mentally, perhaps it's time to take a small break to discover new horizons, to come back stronger next year.