Among the climbers taking on the Speed wall at the IFSC Climbing World Cup Chamonix 2025, 24-year-old Julia Koch of Germany has one of the clearest goals in mind: reclaim her momentum.

"My feelings are mixed regarding this year's past World Cups," she admits. "I had quite a good start in China, but wasn’t able to uphold the flow and really push in competition, so I hope to be able to do so in Chamonix!"

Koch's personal best of 7.68 was set at last year's IFSC World Cup in Briançon, France, where she also qualified for her first –– and so far only –– women's final round, then closing in 16th place.

In 2025, she only competed in three of the four Speed World Cup competitions, placing 29th in Wujiang, China; 31st in Bali, Indonesia; and 33rd in Krakow, Poland; slightly flirting with her own fastest time, but still not being able to set a new one.

TIME GOALS IN THE BACKGROUND, FLOW IN THE FOREFRONT

While time targets provides her with a guide on the long-term, Koch approaches each competition with a clear mindset: trusting the training and racing with instinct.

“It varies from competition to competition, I mostly have a set goal for the season, and then I try to evolve throughout the year to reach that goal. But during the actual competiton I try to forget about the time, as I feel like just letting the body do the work and trusting that that will help me go faster and not make mistakes,” she explains.

EYES ON SEOUL, BUT NO GUARANTEES YET

With only two Speed World Cups left in the calendar –– in Chamonix, France, and Guiyang, China –– the focus of the circuit is gradually shifting towards this year's most anticipated event –– the IFSC World Championships Seoul 2025, set to take place in the Korean capital from 20 to 28 September.

The composition of the German expedition in South Korea, however, is still to be decided.

Koch said: "The final decision about it will be made at he end of August, so as of now I'm not qualified for the Championships.

"Right now, I’m just trying to improve my technique more and more, to go faster, and I’m in no specific preparation for that competition."

Still, every race in Chamonix will be a chance to build momentum and potentially make a statement ahead of the final selections.

TEAM GERMANY BRINGS UNITY TO THE CIRCUIT

Across the past few seasons, the German Speed team has grown in size and performances, making a mark not only through strong performances but also their visible camaraderie and spirit.

Julia Koch credits this unity to shared time on and off the wall: "Yes, we are really close and support each other in and out of competitions, I am very happy to be part of this team.

"A couple of years ago many of us moved to Düsseldorf for training purposes, and since then our team has grown closer and closer each year, and we got to know each other quite well also outside of the training and competition bubble."

Also representing Germany in Chamonix alongaide her will be Linus Bader, Leander Carmanns, Aodhan Umlauf, and Andrin Zedler in the men's event, and Nele Thomas in the women's one.

NEXT UP

Speed qualifications are set to ignite the stage in Chamonix, kicking off tonight, 11 July at 19:00 (UTC+2:00), while finals will light up Place du Mont Blanc on Saturday night at 21:00.

News and updates about the event will be available on the IFSC website and on the Federation’s digital channels: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, and exclusively for the Chinese audience, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu.