Justin Deschamps has sent Condé de choc (9a) in Entraygues. (c) Lilian Moretti

"I tried for the first time Condé de choc last summer, after having already sent all the 8th graded routes of the sector. I struggled in the lower crux section and especially on this classic jump dyno. I came back stronger this year and tried the route with Adrian Houbron. I found an alternative beta to avoid this impossible dyno (6b for Adrian 😂), using an intermediate tiny crimp instead of jumping. Adrian sent this route quite quickly and I came back the following weekend with better conditions to follow his example. I fell two times at the last move and I managed to stick it in an insane fight at 8 pm to send my first 9a. The vibe was crazy at the crag and my friends supported me a lot during these runs. Now time to join Tanguy (Merard) in Le Pamphlet, [for] the project there." 🤙

Sebastien BOUIN has made the third repeat of Alex Megos’ in Céüse. In total, the 30-year-old has now done more than a dozen routes 9b to 9c. (c) Clarisse Bompard

”Bibliograpghie was a big goal for this year. Since Alex did the first ascent of this one, I was really psyched to try something really hard from someone else, here in France. Even if Céüse is very far away from my own natural climbing style. I was really motivated to go through the process on Bibliographie. I am usually alone when trying my projects in France and not many people try them, but Biblio was something different. You know, a 9b+ in my ‘local’ area, already with 3 ascents by top climbers... it was obvious that I had to try it. During the process, I fell 11 times at the top of the route (after the main crux). I think I underestimated this last part of the route. It doesn't look or feel that hard when you do this single section in isolation. Yet, when you are coming from the ground, it was way different. I remember Sean Bailey actually fell 13 times up there, so I am happy that he still holds the record ;-).

Conditions were quite challenging this year. It was raining almost every day, and we had to wait, patiently, for a good window to make an attempt. Bibliographie is not a route that particularly suits my strengths, so it was a great challenge to do a 9b+ on tiny crimps for me. But, now it's time to go back to something a little more my style ;-).”

Mejdi Schalck has participated in three out of the four first Boulder World Cups in 2023 and the 19-year-old is in a reasonably comfortable pole position. Counting only the three best results, Tomoa Narasaki is 535 points behind and Dohyun Lee is 595 points behind. The following two weekends, the last two events will take place in Brixen and Innsbruck. As it stands, it's Mejdi title to lose... Complete ranking.

Jana Svecova, who last year did her first two 8B+, has done Kocour v botách, z cíga potáh (8A+) in Hlubočepské plotny, video.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Last weekend, we visited a small crag near Prague. Actually, it is only about 10 minutes away from the center of Prague, and it's really cool to find such good climbing in a city this big. Anyway, we heard that there might be an 8A+ boulder which is going through small crags, so I immediately thought of trying to flash it. On Thursday, we went to check out the holds, and I felt quite confident that I could actually flash it. We returned to the boulder the next morning because of better conditions. I prepared myself and gave it a flash try. Unfortunately, my hand slipped in the last move, and I fell off. Ah, it's such a bad feeling to be so close to flashing an 8A+. In the end, after a couple of tries, I managed to send the boulder. I also discovered another beta and ended up skipping some moves. If I had known this beta before the flash try, I might have been able to flash it because it felt super easy. On Sunday, we went to check out another project in the area that hasn't been climbed yet. I gave it a few tries, and I think it could be an 8B boulder at least, so we definitely want to come back one day. På

Last year, Brixen hosted its first World Cup with only three months of preparation as it was a replacement location for the cancelled Moscow event. It was a great success and very convenient for the athletes competing in Innsbruck the following weekend. In 2023, roughly 200 athletes from 45 countries are scheduled to compete, including all the perennial favorites on the circuit, making it the biggest field of competitors thus far in 2023.

Friday: 9:00 Women's qualification followed by the Men's at 16:00
Saturday: Women's semi at 11:00 and the final at 20.00
Sunday: Men's semi at 11:00 and the final at 20:00

More info

William Bosi made the first repeat of Nalle Hukkataival's Burden of Dreams (9A) in April. Here is the progress interview three weeks prior to the send and here Bosi comments his ascent.

There are only two Boulder World Cups remaining for the 2023 season and the Brixen and Innsbruck World Cups will take place the following two weekends. In total, the five best results, out of the total six, will count. Brooke Raboutou, Natalia Grossman and Anon Matsufuji have only participated in three events. However, as Oriane Bertone only took 40 points in one event, the 18-year-old who has been 2 - 1 - 1 in the last three events maintains a strong hold on the top spot. Complete ranking

Michaela Kiersch sent La Rambla (9a+) in January after trying it for only ten sessions. Here is the 8a interview with the Doctor in hand therapy. Overall, her combined ticklist makes her a contender for the best female outdoor climber as of now. At the age of 15, she made her debut in the World Cup and was #22. The next year, she was #18 in a Lead World Cup.

Marine Thevenet did Compass North (8B+) last October, 8a report, and Clément Lechaptois repeated Fuck the system (8C+) in November, 8a report.