Crystal Skate

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy have withdrawn from competition due to a cold, after finishing the short on second place. With their biggest rivals out of the way, it is almost certain Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov will claim the European gold once more. The biggest question now is who will finish second? Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov seem the obvious answer, but Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov are anything but quitters. Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres bring back Requiem for a Dream , the song that used to be skaters' darling. They pair it with Angels and Demons , but except for the costumes, there isn't much that mimics the epic battle. Choosing the fastest music part to do the slowest elements doesn't help either. The only technical mistake was her fall on the second Triple Toeloop. They earn 122.45 points. Overall: 185.48 . Married life suits Maylin Wende/Daniel Wende , who are more in sync than ever before. Their music is the soundtrack of Your Highness...

Sergei Voronov and Tomas Verner have returned in the spotlight when no one expected them to, but will they manage to keep up with Javier Fernandez, the skater who has already proved there is nothing he cannot do? Chafik Besseghier 's Passion of Christ is all over the place. In the first half of the programme, he misses every single jump, then recovers slightly in the last half. The story of his routine is not as obvious as it seems - there's no mention of Christ in the choreography and his Egyptian costume doesn't make much sense, at least at first glance. He earns 127.22 points. Overall: 198.07 . La vie en rose looks awfully blue for Florent Amodio . The only jump he managed to land perfectly was a Triple Salchow. Artistically, it is almost painful to see him trying to keep up a happy, carefree face. His score: 111.53 . Overall: 190.13 . Jorik Hendrickx 's Rhapsody comes in a warmer shade of blue than the Frenchman's, but it doesn't shine. His mistake...

Adelina Sotnikova is so very close to achieving her dream and winning the European title that slipped out of her fingers last year. But with Julia Lipnitskaia and Carolina Kostner breathing down her neck, the task is not easy at all. Natalie Weinzierl 's Rhapsody in Blue sounds grand and looks fabulous, but looks can be deceiving. She had a hand down on the Triple Lutz, stepped out of the Triple Loop, fell on the last Triple Salchow and lost her balance during the second-to-last spin. In terms of transition, there wasn't much there. Her score: 98.86 . Overall: 151.88 Julia Turkkila 's La Gazza Ladra migh sound funny, but it's quite a repetitive song. With a bit more imagination, she could have made a story for it, but as it is, the programme doesn't stand out. She missed a couple of elements, the most important being the Triple Salchow, which she fell on. She obtains 89.89 points. Overall: 140.31 I don't know if Elena Glebova builds her programmes arou...

Tonight a couple will make history by winning their first European Championships. Whether it will be Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte or Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, is left to be seen. And will Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland manage to take home the Bronze medal after years in which Great Britain was barely present in ice dance competitions? Isabella Tobias/Deividas Stagniunas re-enact Skyfall for us. They have beautiful lifts, but not-so-synchronized twizzles. Story-wise, except for one moment in which she plays the seductive part of a veritable Bond Girl, there isn't much there. He should mimick James Bond a bit more. They earn 85.55 . Overall: 142.31 . Julia Zlobina/Alexei Sitnikov tell a story of sacrifice and passion for dance, accompanied by the soundtrack of Pina . Except for a tiny non-synchronization moment in the twizzles, the two do a pretty good job. This time they chose great costumes which emphasize their roles as dancers. Their score: 87.96 . Over...

Javier Fernandez raised the bar incredibly high last season with three perfectly-landed quad jumps. Will he manage to keep his title with a programme as equally impressive or is it time for a new European champion? Maxim Kovtun, Florent Amodio and Michal Brezina are all waiting to take his place. Brian Joubert 's NEW short programme is not exactly what we might have expected. He looks rather stiff and overly worried, especially after missing the quad and the Triple Axel. The music is Mutations from the soundtrack of Amaluna . The story, if there is any, doesn't show much, but it is obvious that this is the type of music he could work wonders with if he just kept his nerves in. His score: 73.29 . The first thing that draws your eyes to Florent Amodio is the gorgeous red costume. La Cumparasita turns out to be a perfect match for the French skater. The biggest mistake was the final spin, where he couldn't keep his balance. He earns 78.60 points. Michal Brezina is t...

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat's withdrawal has once more opened a whole new world of possibilities for ice dancers. The French couple decided to focus on the Olympic Games rather than risk an injury in Budapest, as did Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev. This makes the perfect opportunity for Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov to change last year's silver medals with the gold ones they almost got. But what will Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte have to say about it? Isabella Tobias/Deividas Stagniunas ' Marylin Monroe theme suffers from a flawed step sequence and lack of speed in the first part of the dance. They earn 56.76 points. Penny Coomes/Nicholas Buckland chose a modern Fred Astaire and Jurassic 5 for their short programme. The twizzles are strong and the interpretation is good enough, but as pretty as Penny's dress is, she needs to go all the way and learn that longer means more spectacular. Their score: 61.76 . Chicago might be enjoyable to w...