Rock Master 2004 results and reflections

Angela Eiter e Alexander Chabot win the Rock Master 2004 in Arco

September 2004

In a repeat performance of last year's event, Alexandre Chabot and Angela Eiter won the 18th Rock Master in Arco. The young Austrian climbed supremely on Saturday and Sunday to win her second title in a row, while Chabot pulled off the impossible to win for the third year running.

Difficulty
To tell the truth, the Frenchman's victory looked fairly certain after Saturday's on-sight, as he climbed a staggering eight meters higher than closest rival TomÃ s MrÃ zek. The current leader of the World Cup was stopped not by the difficulty of the route (which seemed easily in his grasp) but by his own shorts which got tangled up in a quickdraw!

But Sunday's redpoint route was by no means a walkover - at 8c+, it proved impossible given the current +30Â°C temperatures. Once again MrÃ zek proved that, physically at least, he is in a league of his own, powering through the overhangs up to the arete before falling just a few moves from the top. All other athletes struggled, so much so that Chabot seemed in trouble right from the outset. But his battle brought him to mid-height and, adding Saturday's and Sunday's result, a mere 30 cm higher than the "moral victor" TomÃ s MrÃ zek.

Eiter's road to victory was more straight forward, especially since arch rival Muriel Sarkany chose to miss out on the Rock Master in preparation for the World Cup. Sandrine Levet, Katharina Saurwein and Alexandra Eyer all fought bravely, but Eiter was quite simply unbeatable. The Rock Master has found its new superstar whose idol - not by chance - is Lynn Hill, 4 times winner in Arco.

Sint Rock Boulder Contest
The Sint Rock boulder contest is a crowd pleaser, especially since its singular elimination rule makes it fast and furious. Olga Bibik and Mauro Calibani were the first illustrious victims to fail to proceed to the second round, while MÃ©lanie Son made it look so easy, cruising all poblems first go to take the title. Daniel Dulac, Matthias MÃ¼ller and Salavat Rakhmetov battled it out more evenly in the intense, impossible heat, but in the end this year's revelation, Swissman MÃ¼ller, got the better of his more experienced counterparts.

Duel
The Rock Master came to an end with the thrilling synchronised duel. Katharina Saurwein proved that the Imst new school is a force to be reckoned with, beating teammate Angela Eiter, while the judges had to resort to a photofinish to separate Chabot and MrÃ zek. The video replay showed clearly that MrÃ zek reached the finishing hold before Chabot, but took his time in clipping the chain, which the Frenchman lightening clipped... joint equal! Unbelievable!

RockMaster - men
1. Chabot Alexandre FRA
2. MrÃ¡zek TomÃ¡s CZE
3. Millet Sylvain FRA
4. Bindhammer Christian GER
5. Puigblanque RamÃ³n JuliÃ¡n ESP
6. Crespi Flavio ITA
7. Zardini Luca ITA
8. Usobiaga Patxi ESP
9. Petrenko Maxim UKR
10. Ovtchinnikov Evgueni RUS
11. Brenna Cristian ITA
12. Gnerro Alberto ITA

RockMaster - women
1. Eiter Angela AUT
2. Levet Sandrine FRA
3. Saurwein Katharina AUT
4. Eyer Alexandra SUI
5. Lavarda Jenny ITA
6. Cufar Martina SLO
7. Knorr Damaris GER
8. Bacher Barbara AUT
9. Vidmar Maja SLO
Duel women - Trofeo Ennio Lattisi
1) Saurwein Katharina AUT
2) Eiter Angela AUT
3) Levet Sandrine FRA
4) Eyer Alexandra SUI

Duel men - Trofeo Ennio Lattisi
1) TomÃ s MrÃ zek CZE - Chabot Alexandre FRA
3) Millet Sylvain FRA
4) Bindhammer Christian GER

Sint roc boulder contest - men
1. MÃ¼ller Matthias SUI
2. Dulac Daniel FRA
3. Rakhmetov Salavat RUS
4. Oleksy Tomasz POL
5. Meyer JÃ©rÃ´me FRA
6. Kazbekov Serik UKR
7. Calibani Mauro ITA
8. Ghidini Stefano ITA

Sint roc boulder contest women
1. Son MÃ©lanie FRA
2. StÃ¶hr Anna AUT
3. Abramtchouk Ioulia RUS
4. Perlova Natalia UKR
5. Giammarco Giulia ITA
6. Bibik Olga RUS
7. Danion Juliette FRA

Speed
1. Oleksy Tomasz POL
2. Soubbotine Iakov RUS
3. Pechekhonov Alexandre RUS
4. Komondi Csaba HUN
5. Mecherzynski-Wiktor Andrzej POL
6. Boulbahaiem Salah BEL
7. Hroza Libor CZE
8. Svacha Jiri CZE

Photo: Angela Eiter, winner of the Rock Master 2003 and 2004 (ph Giulio Malfer).