[J_duds]

Innsbruck finals are on you tube

[erm, sam]

Just seen this. Oh happy day. Been busy these last two days but before then I've been checking every twenty minutes like some sort of addict.

[Durbs]

#Spoiler alert

NSFW  :

Another fun comp, good (?) to see Anna not win, if only for the sake of opening the field up a bit, but such a shame it was in the round without Shauna... Commentators seemed to think it was nerves in front of the homecrowd, could be, as she utterly crushed the last problem when the pressue was off.
Men's was good too, shame the first 2 problems didn't seem to offer much of a challenge, must be hard to judge a dyno between impossible/easy, but think on problem #1 it seemed that once the dyno was done, the route was over.
Jan crushed it, which given that he almost didn't make the semi's was pretty impressive.

Overall, thought it was worth the wait.
I agree with some of the YouTube comments that it seems strange that even when you can show 2 climbs side-by-side from one camera shot far back, they still go with the close-up on one of the routes. This would be ok as they then show the replay, but as they can't mute the sound, you can still hear if they other climber's topped out or not.

Being ultra-picky, given everyone was flashing M1 & M2, the focus could've been on W1 & W2, but guess that's partly hindsight? Also sound-levels on CWP were out, but that's just being fussy. Overall they seem to be getting better & better - would be interesting to have some non-finalists co-commentating too.

Kinda crazy to see Team Austria's training facility - think I've seen bigger home training setups!

Roll on Canada!

[abarro81]

Kinda crazy to see Team Austria's training facility - think I've seen bigger home training setups!

Where on the vid do you get to see that? Had a quick flick through but it wasn't obvious and don't want to watch the whole thing..

[r-man]

It's in one of the Where in the world Puccio/Parsons videos.

[abarro81]

Oh right, saw that. Is that not the Innsbruck wall? Durbs must know some pimp home setups!

[Durbs]

It was before the comp started - about er... 7 minutes in?

Not the entire wall obviously, just the bouldering bit.

[r-man]

@31min. It's the same place.

[r-man]

http://gripped.com/2013/05/sections/news/ongoing-pre-comp-coverage-of-ifsc-hamilton-june-1-2-the-art-of-world-cup-routesetting/

[Duma]

mens quals start 9pm uk time http://www.ifsc-climbing.org/

Shauna, Mina, Leah, Alex all through to semis

[a dense loner]

Is anyone else having problems watching men's quals?

[Duma]

working for me

[Duma]

maybe try ifsc youtube channel?
http://www.youtube.com/user/ifscchannel?feature=watch

[abarro81]

fine for me

[a dense loner]

What are you on weak boy? None of them seem to work

[Duma]

finals on now:

[Duma]

Jon Partridge doing a good job on the co comm I reckon

[erm, sam]

Excellent comp!
Agree JP is a good comments bloke. Good at describing the movements and sequence details

[Duma]

jesus mother fucking christ Rustam's attempted sequence on M3 was insane

[Stubbs]

Best finals I've watched, JP's commentary made a lot of difference.  Wish Rustam had managed that sequence!

[Teaboy]

Agree with all of the above, commentating was much improved with a knowledgable pundit alongside. I'd still like to hear more background about the competitors.

As well as Rustams crazy sequence I thought Akiyo was the star of the show, the way she hung a couple of the tops, and her sequence on the last problem, had me reacting like this was a proper sporting event......

[Danny]

Just seen this also, I agree with the comments.

Well-set problems and Jon Partridge did a great job, thankfully, because the other generic sports commentator came across like a total tube, IMHO of course. Two actual climbers next time would be better I think.

[Durbs]

Epic-ness!

Watched Toronto on Friday, Vail on Sunday - 2 of the most exciting rounds so far I'd say.

The atmosphere at Vail was incredible, I'm sure the acoustics and room set-up helped but everyone seemed pumped.
Both were proper nail-biters for both men and women - excellent problems, possibly too hard for men in Vail, but I think we would've seen more tops on M4 if it had been earlier, and possibly all in general had they not climbed the semis & qualis.

Only minor niggle; I'm not a fan of the replacement commentator - bring back Daniel ASAP! (Think he was at a wedding?). His replacement is a bit too "generic commentator" and is a fan of stating the obvious...
Really enjoyed Jon & Alex's contributions, but I guess they're only an option if they don't qualify? Particularly liked the tension between Alex and replacement guy (sorry, can't remember his name) as I got the impression she wasn't a fan.

[Side note:] There's definitely a drinking game to be had when Jon co-commentates. Shot/2-fingers on every "absolutley", and finish your pint on "methodology".

Interesting to see 2 more Americans in the finals, going back to earlier discussions - Angie seemed to struggle with endurance - think she would've crushed if she'd been fresh. Really highlights the level of training the "regulars" are at.
Same as P-Rob - definitely got the skills, just not the reserves?

Final thoughts; desperate for Pooch, Akiyo & Shanua to get a gold, but everytime, Anna just brings it.

[jwi]

Agree, the best finals I've seen in quite a while... The highlight in the mens final was Gelmanov's crazy sequence on M4 and Sharafutdinov's satisfied expression when he heard the crowd roar: “Good on Rustam, but if even *he* can do it I'll crush it...” his smile seemed to say.

Also feel sorry for Noguchi and Puccio, so close..., but it must be disheartening when they cannot win even when Stöhr waste two tries on a easy problem by starting from the wrong position

[Durbs]

Have to say, I genuinely thought Anna was out the running - she just didn't look to be in her usual crushing mode. Being called down seemed to rattle her I thought.

Think I'm right in saying Pooch would've won if she'd read the sequence right on W1 (the mantle start?) as she got this first time after working out this sequence.