NEWS

McNeice ahead after 5 out of 6 events
Since 2025, all six events have been counted toward the overall standings.

Beckett Hsin, 16, ticks Insomniac (8C+)
Beckett Hsin, who sent his first 9A in February, has repeated Drew Ruanaโ€™s Insomniac (8C+) in Lincoln Lake. (c) Brennan Robinson

The 16-year-old got his driver's license last month, and with that newfound freedom, he visited the area for the first time since 2024 and he comments on Instagram.

โ€Spent my first few days back grinding out the wolvo cave, and last weekend I managed to avoid the dab and take down the big link! I remember coming to Lincoln for the first time in 2022, and wondering if Iโ€™d ever be strong enough to do this one. Looks like Iโ€™ve leveled up a bit since thenโ€ฆ Was also able to make my way up โ€œWheel Of Wolvoโ€ and โ€œVariantโ€, (both v14ish). Alpine szn off to a good start! Hyped to get out of the cave and take on some king lines๐Ÿ”œโ€

Neo Suzuki wins third gold in 2026
Neo Suzuki, who opened the season with finishes of 1-1-2 across the first three Lead World Cups, claimed victory in Innsbruck after a countback decision. Olympic champion Alberto Ginรฉs Lรณpez took second place, extending his record to eleven World Cup podiums without a win.

โ€œI just wanted to win at this awesome venue,โ€ Suzuki said shortly after the flower ceremony.

Garnbret reaches 50 World Cup wins
Janja Garnbret, who just sent , claimed her 32nd Lead World Cup victory in Innsbruck and her 50th overall. She has not missed a podium in a Lead or Boulder World Cup event since 2019, and her rare combination of competition dominance and elite outdoor climbing places her among the greatest female athletes in any sport.

"It feels absolutely incredible! I have to be honest, the 50th win was in the back of my mind for quite some time, but I was trying to play it cool, not think about it too much. Today I was feeling like it was my day, I felt super good, and Innsbruck brings the best out of me.

Fifty is crazy! I'm immensely grateful for all the love and support that I get. I will set some new goals soon, I've always said that Bibliographie was the biggest goal of the season, now I got the 50th gold, I guess celebration is in order now!"

Manon Hily ticks Bronx (8c+)
Manon Hily, who was 8th in Innsbruck, included an ascent of Bronx (8c+) in Orgon - Canal as a preparation. Since making her World Cup debut in 2013, the 32-year-old has established herself as one of the sportโ€™s top performers, with ten ascents graded 8c+ or harder, including her first 9a+ route last year. She also enjoyed her second-best overall World Cup season in 2025, finishing 10th in the standings. Her next challenge will be the World Cup event in Chamonix in three weeksโ€™ time.

Ainhize Belar Barrutia ticks Obaba (9a)
Ainhize Belar Barrutia, with seven 9a and beyond under her harness, has done Obaba (9a) in Baltzola. "A style that's very different from what's usual at Baltzola, super awesome!!!" (c) Mar Diฬaz Miranda

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Actually, I put the quickdraws on this route a year ago, but for one reason or another, Iโ€™ve never tried it again. It has been a period of combining trainings and some rocks around home, and since the route has been dry in the last few weeks, I decided to try it!!

Pepa ล indel does Proces (9a)
Pepa ล indel, who last month sent his first 9b, has done Proces (9a) in Viลกลˆovรฉ. โ€With wet holds and without kneepad. So many tries. Not my style at all. When I started trying it 3 years ago I was not able to do most of the moves then after so much time I did the harder variant with kneepad. Today I came full circle and did it honestly.โ€

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Proces is an old-school, groundbreaking route in Viลกลˆovรฉ (Slovakia) FAโ€™d by Juraj Repฤรญk in 2004. Itโ€™s the closest 9a to my home, and Iโ€™ve spent so much time on it.

Itโ€™s an ultra-physical climb in a cave with good holds, huge moves, and a boulder problem in the middle and at the top. Last year, I fell six times on the last jump move, which is a complete comp-style dyno to a jug. I gave up on the move and first did the harder variant, called Procesor 9a/9a+, which skips the final jump. This year, I returned and promised to myself and to my dad that I would do it the original way, without a kneepad. On my first day back this year, I did it without a kneepad and with some of the holds being wet.

What are your summer plans?
I will start my summer trip in Frankenjura where I want to finish Black Label 9a from last year. Then my plans are still open but I will also definitely visit some crags in Dolomites:)

Sixth Consecutive Boulder Gold for Anraku
Sorato Anraku, who has won the first four Boulder World Cups of 2026 and the World Championship in 2025, secured the overall title by also winning in Innsbruck. Once again, the 19-year-old won all three rounds. In total, he has now won 17 World Cup events, including 10 in Lead.

Back-to-Back Win for Annie Sanders
Annie Sanders, who got the gold in Prague two weeks ago, won all three rounds in the Innsbruck World Cup. โ€Innsbruck is one of my favourite places, my European home, so to win gold here is really cool. I feel really good about my shape, I had a ton of fun out there on the mats, and I'm super psyched right now! I'll definitely enjoy this medal, have a nice rest day tomorrow and watch the boys, support Colin, before thinking about Lead. I'll get some sleep, chill, and maybe get some ice cream, they have good ice cream here!"

David Firnenburg does two 8Cโ€™s and 8B+ in a day
David Firnenburg has had a personal record day up at Gottardo sending Adularia (8C), Stairway to heaven sit (8B+) and Hazel Grace sit (8C).

The 31-year-old started out as a route and competition climber. He won a couple Euro Youth Cups and in 2016, he got the bronze in the Combined World Championships. By 2020, the German had climbed 21 routes graded 9a or harder. He later shifted his focus more toward bouldering, and in 2025 he completed his second and third 8C boulders. (c) Clem Lechaptois

Can you tell us more about your great sending day?
So, Andrea [Kรผmin] and I started the day early at Mรคtteli sector where Adaluria is located. These days you can find good conditions until around 12 a.m. We met our friend Marco Mรผller and later Nina Arthur and Clem Lechaptois joined us. Andrea worked the stand start and made decent progress. She made the heel hook move look easy on which I struggled the most coming from the sit start. Marco was the first to send Adaluria. Looked very in control and precise. I sent the stand start two weeks ago, so this was my first time trying from the sit. I quickly found my beta and went through the first part into the stand. However, I struggled with a right heel hook where you to place your finger precisely on a kind of mini horn in order to have enough space for the heel. After around 4 times falling there, the heel finally sticked and I didnโ€™t fall at the last physical moves anymore. Back to back send with Marco! Great support from the crew!

Then we went on to the king line of the entire area, Stairway to heaven. It was crazy windy up there. Usually you wait until the sun is gone but it was sticky enough to try it in the sun. I quickly tried the climb two weeks ago but after half an hour we got rained out. This time I had no stress, worked the upper part on the rope, made some tick marks and then tried from the bottom. Alois Remund and Beni Blaser, two other good Swiss friends joined us. Again pretty good vibes! I mostly struggled with the first two left heel hooks on the slopy arete. Once they stayed on, I sent the problem. Such a nice mixture of physical compression, technical heel hooks, friction, height and good mental game!

Alois got us excited to try the sit with him. He had sent the stand before. Marco was actually trying Child of Hell (8C) just next to it but came over to us to join. He was again the first to send the sit of Stairway which motivated me to do the same. Again, he made it look really in control. Inspiring! Alois, Beni and I made shifts on the boulder. Alois and Beni also had promising tries. Funny and acrobatic how we flew off the arete onto the uneven landing underneath! Luckily, we had enough pads to make the climb feel safe despite its height.

The difficulty of the climb remains the same, the heel hooks. The sit adds four hand moves and two foot moves, though. I made progress try over try and then fought my way up to the top. Some power screams were needed because I started to feel tired. A couple of tries on Adaluria in the morning which consists of around 12 steep moves, more tries on Stairway stand afterwards (9 powerful moves) and then some more on the sit (15 moves). Actually I thought the day was over and that I would support Andrea working Hazel Grace.

At Hazel we teamed up with Nina and Clem again. A bit later Jorge Diaz-Rullo joined us. The boulder is the whole day in the sun and only climbable in the evening. Nina and Andrea worked the stand, the boys the sit. I sat down and had some snacks. I actually told myself to end the climbing day with a sweet success on Stairway sit and the other climb I had sent. But then I changed my mind and thought I should at least give it some tries because the conditions were good, my skin wasnโ€™t too bad and I wanted to be very tired when sitting in the office next Monday morning๐Ÿ˜Š Watching the others climb made me excited, too. I had my first session on the stand the day before sending it. I knew how to do the upper part and in the end of the session I figured out how to do the moves from the sit. I had a good first go climbing into the stand and felt surprisingly good again. Maybe it was because of the nuts and chocolate I had eaten before. I just had to do the second move of the stand start a tiny bit differently coming from the sit. A bit more bouncy and dead-pointy. Thatโ€™s what I did on my second try, felt good on the slot holds, didnโ€™t need the intermediate for the cross move and strong on the last moves which are easier but hard enough to fall on every move. I was surprised standing on top. A bit surreal.

Overall, probably my best bouldering day so far when it comes to sending. A good mix of a motivated and supporting team, beautiful landscape, fresh air, beautiful lines and own ambitions. Also cool to see that I am still progressing after so many years of climbing. I am still very motivated to try hard and climb as much as possible. I also have the drive to discover new areas and travel when I find the time besides work. I am also healthy and didnโ€™t face any big injuries in the past which is a gift. And Iโ€™ve got a loving girl friend and family which is the most amazing thing. Very grateful for all of that!