Ahead of the second Lead and the fourth Speed competitions of the 2023 World Cup season, for Swiss climber Petra Klingler it’s all about taking inspiration and confidence from an alternative winter’s ‘training’ and applying it to get the best from the World Cup’s.

“I won the overall World Cup in Ice Climbing,” said Klingler, “which was exciting for me, it was kind of the only goal missing for me and I’m happy I did it.  

“It definitely took away some focus and training time from Boulder, but mentally it was probably the best thing to do as it was a huge boost for self-confidence and motivation.”

As athlete’s physical preparation is key, but mentality also helps drive the top-class performers to their goals, something that Klingler is more than aware of: “The World Cups haven’t gone the way I hoped. It’s been quite a difficult season for me not being able to perform in Boulder and I really noticed the difference compared to my Ice Climbing where I was so self-confident, taking risks, not even thinking about results and just performing my best on the day. 

“Compare that to Boulder and I really put pressure on myself as I had targets I needed to hit to qualify for other competitions like the World Championships.”

Despite being a seasoned performer after making her World Cup debut in 2009, there are still some new things to learn for Klinger, and some that come with that experience: “Having qualification targets is a new thing for me as its usually in my pocket, and this has definitely stressed me out. Also, there was injuries from last year and the start of this year, like my shoulder, which has taken a lot more of my confidence than I expected. 

“It’s been harder to come back from injury and have that confidence in my shoulder and putting away the fear that I could get injured again. That leads to not being able to give 100% in training, and that 2-3% really makes a difference with progress, and you need that to be a top athlete.”

It may be a little harder to comeback for Klingler, but it is coming: “Luckily my shoulder is better and I have had some good weeks training. Brixen was the first time I felt like me when I was climbing with my usual power and agility, so although the season hasn’t gone the way I wanted it to, it’s not over and there is still a chance and I keep on believing.”

With that belief and a return to feeling like herself, what can we expect from the Swiss climber in front of a home crowd: “Honestly, I’m not expecting that much in Villars. I’ve been focussing more on Boulder this season and haven’t put that much training into Lead. I have done qualification and team selection stuff which went well, so maybe not doing training is better for me,” jokes Klingler. “It’s all about getting enough points to be able to do the combined to do the Olympic qualification for Paris.”

Expectations may be in check, but the prospect of a home crowd performance is not lost on Klingler: “It's different competing at home. But it is a privilege. It shows the community and love in Switzerland for Climbing, and its growing fast, and that is the best thing to see. 

“It can put on a little pressure as expectations are higher and you want to perform to pay back the people who put in the work to put the event on and for the people who turn up. I just want to pay back the people who support and shout for me.”

Klinger will be up against an absolute force of nature in the women’s Lead competition in Villars. There has been six IFSC World Cup’s in Villars, and the Olympic champion Janja Garnbret has won every single one. With the Slovenian also winning the Lead season opener in Innsbruck last week, she has to be one of the favourites.

Japan’s Mori Ai beat Garnbret in Lead twice last season and showed good form taking silver in Innsbruck. Austria’s Jessica Pilz was on the podium at home and will be hoping for more good fortune in Switzerland. Also add in the American climbers Brooke Raboutou and Natalia Grossman who had stellar Boulder seasons, and the women’s competition will have many names to look out for.

In contrast to the women, the men’s Lead competition in Villars has had six different winners from its six podiums. There’s also the ‘generational’ conversation that has emerged from Innsbruck last time out.

Germany’s Alexander Megos spoke about the ‘next generation’. Austria’s Jakob Schubert said: "Experience can still play an important role, especially in Lead, and I believe we, the old guys, can still compete with the young guns."

Both made it onto the podium with Switzerland’s Sascha Lehmann, who may not fall into the ‘young gun’ category anymore after making his debut in 2015 and gaining a vast amount of experience compared to climbers like Great Britain’s Toby Roberts and Japan’s Anraku Sorato who both have a Boulder gold from 2023 to their names.

For sure as the World Championships fast approaches and Olympic qualification looms, making progress in the Lead discipline after the Boulder season is a must.

With Speed also on the horizon for Paris 2024, Villars is another opportunity to lay down a marker.

The opener in Seoul, South Korea already set the season alight with new world records for the men and women. Only the men’s record holder, Indonesia’s Veddriq Leonardo, will be in action though as Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw takes a break following the European Games in her home country.

Despite a perfect three from three World Cup gold’s so far, Miroslaw was narrowly beaten by compatriot Natalia Kalucka who claimed the win in Poland and will be hoping to transfer that into a World Cup top spot. Natalia will once again be on the start line with her sister Aleksandra and will face fierce competition from a strong Chinese team who last year won five of the six Speed medals on offer in Villars.

Alongside the women’s 2022 medallist’s Deng Lijuan and Niu Di, all three men from last year’s podium are also in action looking to repeat the podium lock-out feat.

Long Jianguo, Wu Peng and Long Jinbao will face stiff competition though from the Indonesian team who not only have world record holder Veddriq, but also former record holder Kiromal Katibin and Raharjati Nursamsa who impressed his home crowd by taking his first World Cup gold in Jakarta, Indonesia early in the year.

The action-packed event will begin in Villars at 13:00 (UTC+2:00) on 30 June with the men’s and women’s Lead qualification before the semi-finals and finals the next day. The event will draw to a close with a day of Speed on Sunday 2 July.

Petra Klingler feeling back to her best at the IFSC World Cup BrixenPhoto: Dimitris Tosidis/IFSC