Crystal Skate

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are very close to accomplishing their lifelong dream of winning a Grand Prix Final. Starting the final on second, Madison Chock & Evan Bates can do little to prevent the Canadians' win, but they will try. Meanwhile, the Shibutanis are back up there with the top couples and will hope to remain in that position. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron  are not just dancing to Mozart's Adagio from Concerto No. 23 , they've created a love story to go with it. It is complex by being both uplifting and heartbreaking. Their score: 100.91 . Overall: 162.39 . Is this podium a preview of the World Championships? Photograph: David Ramos/ Getty Images Europe It doesn't get closer to a ballroom atmosphere than Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani 's waltz. And perhaps that's a bit of a problem; the music doesn't really allow them to express any real emotions (unless you're counting the smiles glued to their faces like a Halloween...

Russia has never had a stronger line-up in the ladies' event than they have here. The first four places are all occupied by their skaters and it's not looking as though that will change. Enjoy it while you can because we're unlikely to see them all on the same ice again this season. But first, let's check with the United States. I will never get tired of Ashley Wagner 's Moulin Rouge . The story is an iconic tale about the ugly costs of beauty and luxury, and there is nobody who could tell it better than the eloquent American. She is virtually perfect on a technical level as well. Her score: 129.26 . Overall: 189.50 . Anna Pogorilaya 's Firebird  is entirely different than the American's routine, and it lacks the conviction we've seen before from the Russian. Her biggest technical error is the fall on the triple Salchow, but she also messes up her camel spin. She gets 118.95  points. Overall: 180.29 . The winners of the night Photograph: David R...

Last time we saw the pairs, Canada's Duhamel & Radford proved that they shouldn't be underestimated, not even when they're going up against Russian excellence. Sui & Han also proved that sometimes having a clean programme is all you need to get to the top. Will they manage to keep those standings after the free? Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang 's Alegretto  isn't really as cheerful as the name suggests; on the contrary, it is filled with angst, which they could express more. They're so much better than yesterday though with only two mistakes: in the side-by-side double Axels and in the side-by-side spins. Their score: 129.33 . Overall: 191.79 . The pairs' podium Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images Europe I wish Wenjing Sui/Cong Han 's choreography was more specific so that we could get a glimpse of the story behind Tchaikovski's Francesca da Rimini . The way they present the routine instead is by emphasizing the different nuances of the music ...

Last night left us with the bitter taste of disappointment as we watched Javier Fernandez crash under the pressure of competing on home ice for the first time. But it also gave us hope that the Olympic champion, Yuzuru Hanyu, has put behind him the collision that cost him not only one, but two Grand Prix wins. The results aren't cemented though; anything can happen in figure skating and there's never a better time for anything to happen than right now. Takahito Mura  starts the competition as the underdog, but you wouldn't know it from his performance. The only mistake is singling out the triple Loop. His interpretation of Phantom of the Opera  is quite dull though; he needs to express the desperation of his character a bit more. His score: 157.02 . Overall: 235.37 . The medalists Photograph: David Ramos/ Getty Images Europe Javier Fernandez  is visibly more relaxed than yesterday. Still, he's not quite able to convey the carefree feeling of The Barber of Sevi...

Finally, we have arrived to the short programme Barcelona has been waiting for most impatiently: the men's. All of Spain will place their bets on Javier Fernandez, who has never before skated on homeland against such powerful rivals. Will that help or deter his performance? We wish him, and all the other skaters, the best of luck. Yuzuru Hanyu  seems to have recovered from the accident that made him skate first here, at a competition where he would normally skate last. His music is a frantic piano ballad by Chopin, but he manages to express every single change in the music. He loses his axis on the triple Lutz though, which prevents him from aligning the Toeloop right, which is why he falls. His score: 94.08 . Sergei Voronov  has nerves of steel, which is why he seems unaffected by Hanyu's amazing performance. Still, you can tell he's being extra careful with every move because he's slower than usually, too slow to match the rapid pace of  Danse Macabre . He gets 84...

We kick off the second day of the Grand Prix Final with the ice dancers' first event - the short dance. The game hasn't changed much since last year, given that Canada and the United States are still the two main rivals, but the players are definitely new. Let's see if Chock/Bates and Weaver/Poje manage to continue with the legacy of Davis/White and Virtue/Moir. When you're skating with your sibling, you can't really present love stories, which is why Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani 's paso doble looks a bit colder than others. However, being limited means they have to work harder to find other ways to approach the music, which shows versatility. It also helps that they know the technicalities of the dance in and out. Their score: 63.90 . Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje are leading comfortably Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images Asia Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron 's dance is much sexier, but also filled with errors: he stumbles during a t...

It's the ladies' turn to show us their short routines, and they are bound to give everything they've got tonight because the competition has perhaps never before been fiercer. We've only got one group here made up of the best ladies of the moment. The logic as to why they're not divided into two groups like the pair and dance skaters eludes me, but who am I to question ISU decisions? The first skater, Rika Hongo , wasn't supposed to come to Barcelona, but Gracie Gold's injury and consequential withdrawal propelled her upward. Despite that, there is no doubt she has the necessary skills to be at a Grand Prix Final. Her jumps are good if perhaps just a little flawed. Her score: 61.10 . Ashley Wagner  came here with nothing to lose, but perhaps that's not the perfect circumstance for her; perhaps that's why she steps out of the triple Flip, a mistake that shows more lack of concentration than anything else. She gets 60.24  points. Elizaveta Tuta...

Tonight is a big night for Barcelona, as it hosts its first ever Grand Prix Final of figure skating. Let's hope it will help inspire some of the younger spectators to take up this beautiful sport. Surely that's something Spain wishes to achieve this weekend in the hope that they can continue on the successful path set by Javier Fernandez. The first event of the Final is the short programme of the pairs. The favourites here are Stolbova & Klimov, but every single one of the six couples have plenty to offer, and they will give their best to get as close to that most-desired gold medal as they can. Good luck to them all. It's not easy being first, especially at an event of such magnitude, but Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin  keep their nerves under control. The only mistake is in the side-by-side spins, which are not in sync. Presentation-wise, they look dressed for an opera or a ballroom rather than for a tribal piece, so maybe they should consider making their costumes more accur...

After almost two full months of beautiful skating and shocking outcomes, the 2014 Grand Prix Series is finally drawing to a close. The host of the final is Spain's most visited city, a world-renowned centre of Hispanic art, music and sports: Barcelona (cue the triumphant trumpets). The city's cultural wealth is not the main reason it was picked to organise the Final though. The real reason was to celebrate Spain's newly formed relationship with figure skating, which has only recently acquired popularity on the Iberian Peninsula. Responsible for this popularity is Javier Fernandez, whose chances of getting on the podium are extremely high. Of course, ideally he would win the competition, but that's easier said than done when he has to beat an unbelievably determined Yuzuru Hanyu and a very ambitious Maxim Kovtun. Nothing is impossible though. Javier Fernandez, Spain's leading man in figure skating Photograph: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images Europe Speaking of impo...