Rostelecom Cup 2014

This year's Rostelecom Cup, hosted by Moscow, lacks significantly in Russian power. Olympic champions Adelina Sotnikova and Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov are just some of the Russian skaters who are off ice due to injury. That doesn't mean though that the event will lack in excitement, as we've got European champions, World medalists and aspiring winners competing here.

Let's begin with the men's event, where the obvious winner is Javier Fernandez. However, last time we saw him the odds weren't quite working for him. But there are no mindbogglingly talented Japanese skaters here, just very ambitious Europeans. Sergei Voronov will fight for a chance at the gold, but he'll more likely end up battling Michal Brezina for a lesser spot on the podium. And what about Jason Brown? Will his successful streak continue even when faced with quadruple pros?
Elena and Ruslan have passed the test; how will their rivals do?
Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia

A category with less star material is the ladies'. The only girl from the roster of incredibly gifted female Russians present in Moscow will be Anna Pogorilaya. There is no better place or time for the host to introduce us to other equally amazing young women, so I'm curious what Maria Artemieva and Maria Stavitskaia are all about.

One pair who is definitely about winning are Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov. They are one of the most driven pairs I've seen in a while and it would take a major change in attitude for them to lose this event. Because yes, figure skating is as much about attitude as it is about skill. Not much else going on in this section, I'm afraid, but it still is a platform for couples like Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier to gain some experience.

The ice dance is where the action is. Now, if you're a drama lover, you cannot miss this competition; if you roll your eyes whenever something juicy occurs, you still can't miss it, but you'll find the atmosphere quite annoying. Why? Because it's Ilinykh/Zhiganshin versus Sinitsina/Katsalapov, round one. I'm sure they'll be perfectly civil around each other, but the anticipation of knowing who's better is enough to turn this into quite a showdown. Unfortunately, if what we saw last week is a sign, neither couple has a shot at actually winning this. My guess is Madison Chock/Evan Bates will take the gold, but the Russians might grab hold of a podium step if they beat Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland.

So, are you ready for Rostelecom Cup 2014?

Comments

  1. Anonymous12 November 2014 at 15:57

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Anonymous12 November 2014 at 15:57

    I'd love to see Stepanova/Bukin and/or Ilinykh/Zhiganshin win a medal here, I didn't believe in IZ at first, but their last oh!so!sexy! paso doble totally won my heart. But the currently in favour is Stepanova/Bukin, they won the last Skate America bronze (still, their free programme is boring as hell). While at the same time, at the ice show in May, Sinitsina/Katsalapov quite disappointed me (just like I had thought before, he couldn't lift her like Rusland did +_+ and all of Zueva's teams have not been doing so well this season, so far. Not to mention that, they are, once again, a copy cat of Virtue and Moir, and a very disappointed one, I'd say. ANd they don't have the chemistry like IZ do)
    I'd like Pogorilaya to win here :v of course, any medal will guarantee her a slot at Grand Prix Final, but still...
    In pairs, it's no doubt Stolbova/Klimov, but Denney/Frazier are really promising team (though their programmes are quite... lame :)))))))))
    Maybe... just maybe (pleasepleaseplease), Gachinsky can land those quads and grab a medal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daiana Damacus12 November 2014 at 16:05

      I hear you there about Gachinsky. He's completely lost it in the past few years, hasn't he? I wonder what's wrong.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12 November 2014 at 21:35

    My picks are Fernandez, Pogorilaya, Stolbova/Klimov and Chock/Bates.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daiana Damacus12 November 2014 at 21:37

      They're probably going to win.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12 November 2014 at 21:40

      Not sure how Ilinykh and Katsalapov will do seperately XD And I'm not sure if Kozuka will pull off another win...... that will depend on how Fernandez does (hopefully not another meltdown!).

      Delete
    3. Daiana Damacus12 November 2014 at 21:43

      From what I've seen from Kozuka this season, it doesn't seem likely. But I hope Javier's last competition was just bad luck, not something he'll do again.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12 November 2014 at 21:52

      He pretty much flopped at Skate Canada

      Delete

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