This past weekend’s competition in Kranj, Slovenia, was the first event on the IFSC circuit following August’s World Championships (and the inaugural Olympic berths that came with them). Many competitors were fresh off trips to other countries for big competitions like the Bloc Shop Open in Canada and the Adidas Rockstars in Germany. As a result, it felt like it had been ages since the world’s top competitors convened for an IFSC lead World Cup event. In fact, it had only been two months, but the abundance of travel and Olympic buzz in the interim laid a foundation for some intriguing questions: Would those competitors who already qualified for the 2020 Olympics choose to continue on the World Cup circuit at Kranj? And, would competitors who were so consistently good in the first half of the lead season be able to pick up right where they left off? Gallery: 18 Photos From the 2019 Kranj World Cup 18 Gallery 18 Images Seo Pulls Away from the Pack As it turned out, although some of the competitors who punched their Olympic tickets at the aforementioned World Championships (like Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi and Tomoa Narasaki) decided to forego the World Cup event…