As the IFSC World Cup season rolls on, another new city gets added to the list of hosts as the fifth Lead World Cup of 2025 touches down in the Alcobendas - Comunidad de Madrid.

With the competition in Chamonix, France last weekend still fresh in the mind, 152 climbers – 81 men and 71 women – will compete and take their shot at another Lead World Cup podium.

In the penultimate World Cup of the 2025 series, the race to be crowned the series winner is hotting up with another 1000 points to aim for as well as the World Cup medals.

Picking up points and podiums all series so far are Great Britain’s Erin McNeice and Spain’s Alberto Ginés López. Both have stood on the Lead podium at all four events, and Ginés López especially will be hoping to continue that run in front of a home crowd. Ginés López also has some added motivation coming one hand slip away from his first ever gold in Chamonix.

One climber who did get gold was South Korea’s Seo Chaehyun who already has three podiums to her name this year and seems to be in a battle with McNeice at every event; the pair even shared a gold in the first event of the season.

Japan’s Anraku Sorato beat Ginés López to the Chamonix gold and will once again be looking to claim top spot and continue his run of both Boulder and Lead World Cup medals – in his career, and this season.

Anraku is joined by a strong men’s team which includes World Cup medallist’s Yoshida Satone, Omata Shion and Suzuki Neo while in the women’s competition Nonaka Miho returns to action after missing the Chamonix event.

Two climbers who did come back in that event were Olympic medallists Jessica Pilz of Austria and Brooke Raboutou of the USA. Pilz has been out with an injury while Raboutou has taken some time away from competition, but both are well and truly back in Spain.

The home climbers have a mix of experience with Ginés López a World Cup medallist and Olympic champion, the young Geila Macià Martín taking part in her first final last weekend, and just like most host nations, a few climbers making their debut.

One of those climbers making their debut in their home country is Lucía Sempere González. Speaking about the event she said: “I’m nervous. It’s my first World Cup so I’m also really, really excited. I’m excited to compete with the big names in our sport from around the world, but that also makes me really, really nervous. I don’t feel any pressure though as it’s my first World Cup, so that’s fine.”

Having a World Cup can give the climbing in that country a bit of a boost in popularity and exposure, so what does Sempere González think it means for Spain?

“It's really important for us because here in Spain there’s not a lot of visibility of Sport Climbing so I think it’s really good for our country and our team. People can see that we exist, and that’s really good for us.”

All World Cups have their own quirks and challenges, and for Sempere González one thing definitely stands out: “It's going to be so hot. It’s the hottest month in the year, so everyone needs to drink a lot of water.”

After the advice Sempere González said: “Us Spanish people, we are so crazy, so I think the crowd will be so good and they will shout a lot. It’s going to be hot, but the crowd is going to be amazing*.”*

Other climbers that the crowd can shout out for are the likes of South Korea’s Kim Jain who is competing in her first World Cup of the season, Great Britain’s Olympic champion Toby Roberts, Italy’s Filip Schenk who is fresh of his first ever World Cup medal in Chamonix, and the USA team climbers Annie Sanders, Colin Duffy and Jesse Grupper.

There are also a few climbers who are the sole representatives from their nation who would welcome some crowd support such as South Africa’s Caitlin Bouwer, Malaysia’s Ke Qun Tao, Greece’s Matthaios Valsamidis and Finland’s Iris Heikkinen.

The event starts with qualification and semi-finals on Friday 18 July before the men's and women's final on Saturday 19 July.

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.