After a taking a brief break for the IFSC World Championships in Paris, the IFSC Lead and Speed World Cups return to action this month with the second leg of the 2016 China tour in Wujiang and Xiamen.
The Wujiang District has gathered top IFSC Athletes since 2012 and will do so again for the sixth 2016 IFSC Speed World Cup on October 18th-19th. Three days after and further down China’s East Coast, Xiamen hosts its first IFSC World Cup with the final Speed and penultimate Lead event of the season.
Dzienski and Jaubert Aim for Sweep
Marcin Dzienski won the past three IFSC Speed World Cup events, and the Polish star can become the first IFSC Athlete to win four of these events in a single season. He continued his momentum in Paris at the 2016 IFSC Climbing and Paraclimbing World Championships last month, winning Gold with a 5.83 in the final round against Reza Alipourshenazandifar of Iran. Currently ranked fifth in the Speed rankings,
Alipourshenazandifar showed great passion in Paris and will look to rebound in Wujiang. Also keep an eye on Aleksandr Shikov. Since placing 16th at the first event of 2016 in Chongqing, the nineteen-year-old from Russia has been steadily improving. He rounded out the podium in Paris with a 5.95 in the small final and should fare better in China this time.
For the Women, Anouck Jaubert became the first Woman to win three consecutive IFSC Speed World Cups at the most recent event in Arco, and she can set a second record in Wujiang by completing the same feat as Dzienski. Standing in her way will be Anna Tsyganova of Russia. Tsyganova posted eyepopping times in Paris and bested Jaubert in the final match. The new world champion will surely be the one to catch in China. Her Russian teammate and Bronze medallist in Paris, Iuliia Kaplina, is not far behind Jaubert in the Speed rankings and could
surpass the record-setter from France in Wujiang.
