After a long, hard season involving countless airmiles, hotel rooms and airport lounges, the IFSC Boulder World Cup 2014 finished last weekend in Laval, France. Jan Hojer looked favourite to take the men’s title but the women’s was still wide open, with Shauna Coxsey having dominated the first half of the season only to have Akiyo Noguchi control the second half, meaning that whoever did better in Laval would take the overall win. Add in the fact that the last round in China was only a week ago, and Laval was set to be a real test of who could hold their nerve and cope best with the effects of fatigue and pressure. Both Shauna and Akiyo made it safely into the final, climbing some excellent looking problems in the semis, making for a dramatic finale. In the end, it was Akiyo who held her nerve, winning the event in Laval – her fourth event win in a row – and claiming her third overall World Cup title. Shauna meanwhile finished in 5th in Laval, securing a silver medal in the final standings. The ever reliable Anna Stohr took third overall for the year. Jan Hojer, meanwhile, was sure of winning the overall men’s event before the Laval final even got underway because his nearest rival, Dmitri Sharafudtinov was eliminated in the semis and therefore couldn’t catch Jan in the final standings. Possibly with this in mind, Jan didn’t even make the Laval podium but he probably won’t lose much sleep because at just 22 years old he is now IFSC World Cup Champion 2014. Dmitri ended up with the silver medal and Frenchman Guillaume Glairon-Mondet took a very respectable bronze. The IFSC Bouldering World Cup is done for this year but the Lead competition has only just got underway and there is an incredibly strong field so we’ll keep you informed as the season progresses.
