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 The
event took place in Pitztal, in Austrian Tirol. The competitors climb on
artificial ice towers. They lead and clip, while climbing, the quickdraws
already in place, exactly like in the traditional climbing competitions.
The winner is the one who climbs higher, and if there are ex-equos the
results of the previous rounds are considered. In case of further ex-equos
there isn't a superfinal, but automatically there will be two winners. Big
success of spectators and medias during the first event in Austria. About
thousand people followed the triumph of François Lombard, famous climbing
champion ( in his palmares, among various titles, also the World Cup
1994), that shows a remarkable polyvalency and the great value of his
talent, bound to the entire mountain world. Lombard was the only one to
finish the final route, confirming a remarkable command of the ice
climbing tecnique and a considerable athletic preparation. In a World Cup,
in fact it is forbidden to use the dragonne, the sling connecting the
ice-axe to the athlet's wrist. In this way the ice climber can rely only
on the strenght of his hands and therefore the quality of his physical
training becomes relevant. Second place for Will Gadd, who got a penalty
for stepping out of the boundaries of the final route and third place for
another French, Stephane Husson. In the women's field victory for the
Russian Irina Ryzhenkova, followed by fellow-countrywoman Margarita
Kolodkina and the Hungarian Ildi Kiss. Next World Cup in Courchevel, Val
d'Isere (Francia) from 23 to 25 Januar and afterwards in Cortina d'Ampezzo
(Bl) from 27 to 30 Januar.
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