Trophee de France 2016 Preview

Ladies and gentlemen, Trophee Eric Bompard is no more. The French Grand Prix event is now officially called Trophee de France after changing its name for the fourth time since 1987.

Originally known as Grand Prix International de Paris, its name changes happened in sync with main sponsor changes. Thus the competition was also called Trophee Lalique, after a French glass company, and of course, Eric Bompard, after a French fashion company. Does this mean it'll likely get a new name once a new sponsor is welcome on board? Likely so, but we'll have to wait at least another season to see. In the meantime, let's see who are the main skaters to watch this weekend in Paris.

MEN

 Javier Fernandez - nothing's changed since last week when I listed the top skaters to watch at Rostelecom Cup. The Spaniard seems an even surer bet with none of his main rivals present in Paris.

Javier Fernandez during the free skate in Moscow
Photograph: Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images
Denis Ten - I know I just said none of his rivals are here, but the sad truth is the Kazakh's last season took him out of Javier's rival circle. He's nothing if not a comeback king though.

Adam Rippon - the American won a bronze at Skate America a few weeks ago, and has a gorgeous free skate this season, so you'd better not take your eyes off him in France.

Nathan Chen - I'm putting another newbie on the watchlist because a) he won the Junior Grand Prix Final last season, and b) he won the bronze at the 2016 Senior US Nationals.

Takahito Mura - a bit reluctant to name him as a contender for the podium as he's been quite inconsistent lately, but he's always a joy to watch.

Also worth mentioning Chafik Besseghier, Ivan Righini and Misha Ge, three very entertaining skaters who have been on the up recently.

PAIRS

Aliona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - I almost typed Robin Szolkowy. Ah, good memories. Back to the now, what I said about Javier applies to the Germans too. Moscow wasn't perfect, but it was a win.
Aliona and Bruno won gold at Rostelecom Cup 2016
Photograph: Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images
Natalia Zabjiako/Alexander Enbert - no way I'm not putting them on the watchlist after they finished the short first in Moscow. I know circumstances had a big role, but they still got silver,

Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov - if the Germans have any rivals here, it's them. They finished third in Skate America, but they'll be reaching for at least the silver in Paris.

I'll stop at three pairs given that there are only six in total, but not before saying the host's Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres are also likely to end up in the top 4.

LADIES

Evgenia Medvedeva is leading the ladies' GP standings
Photograph: om Szczerbowski/Getty Images North America
Evgenia Medvedeva - the Russian hasn't lost a competition since Rostelecom Cup 2015, so about this time last year, and it doesn't look like she's about to do it in Paris.

Mao Asada - the Japanese finished on a disappointing 6th place at Skate America and she had an injury last time we saw her which made her take the triple Axel out, but I'll always keep her on my list.

Gabrielle Daleman - she's been getting better and better each season, so I have a feeling her time to shine is not far away.

Gracie Gold - Skate America was not the best competition for her, so I'll abstain from making predictions about how she'll skate here and hope for the best.

Maria Sotskova - I've never seen Maria skate before, so I'm wondering if she'll prove out to be another Russian 'wonder-child'. She's a Junior World silver medalist.



ICE DANCE

 Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron - first Grand Prix competition of the season for the World champs. They're doing music by a variety of artists among whom Lene Riebau and Olafur Arnalds.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - I am a super fan of these two, so I'm looking forward to them winning at least another bronze medal in Paris. Pretty please?

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - with a beautiful free skate routine and a silver medal in their pockets already, this couple is showing signs they're the season's dark horses.
Madison and Zachary will be looking to get a medal in Paris
Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images North America
Elena Ilinykh/Ruslan Zhiganshin - after their performance in Chicago, this could well just be wishful thinking. I couldn't get into their routines at Skate America, but looking forward to a second viewing.

Isabella Tobias/Ilia Tkachenko - not podium material, but these two skaters have become far more interesting to me since pairing up.

So those are the main skaters I'll be keeping an eye on this weekend. Have any of your favourites made my list?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skaters We'll Miss, Part 5: Daisuke Takahashi

Image
October 31, 2008: It's a few days before the start of the 2008 Cup of China and for Japanese superstar, Daisuke Takahashi, it's the day disaster strikes. He's just torn a ligament in his right leg, which will take him off the ice for the entire season. What's even worse is that this is the type of injury that might just abruptly end the career of one of the most promising skaters of the decade. Long before becoming a superstar, Daisuke began his life in the ice rink by choosing between hockey and figure skating. He became a senior skater at the age of 16, but couldn't cope with the pressure and didn't become Japan's National Champion until four seasons later. Phantom of the Opera Photograph: Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images Sport In 2005/2006, at the age of 19, he almost lost the National title, and the chance to participate at the Olympics, when it was accidentally given to Nobunari Oda due to a miscalculation. The error was corrected though and Daisu...
Read more

Skate America 2015 Preview

Image
That wonderful time of the year is here again! No, I'm not talking about Christmas, but the start of the figure skating Grand Prix series. I've been waiting for this event since the last day of the 2015 World Team Trophy, and I know I'm not the only one, so let's get started. The logo of Skate America 2015 Photo: www.isu.org Skate America will open the Grand Prix series, as usual. It is held this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee is not known for anything related to figure skating, but for its beer and festivals - beer festivals, I assume. In fact, the logo for Skate America this year looks so much like a beer label that I wouldn't be surprised if the party favours proved out to be small bottles of beer with the logo as labels. Wouldn't that be cool? As creative as the marketing of the event is, the logo isn't what it's going to make this event spectacular. That task is given to the skaters, and judging by the big names competing, they...
Read more

Let's Talk Music - Chapter 3, The Pitfalls of Modern Music

Image
After more than 150 years since its official appearance, figure skating finally caught up with modern times last season when the International Skating Union (ISU) decided to allow all disciplines to skate to music with lyrics. This decision was seen by many as the perfect opportunity to bring modern music into the equation. After all, it's been ignored for far too long in competitions, always kept at bay by how much of an impact the lyrics have over it. Joshua Farris took the Four Continents Championships by storm last season with his Ed Sheeran routine. Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images Asia The assumption that the new rule - which kind of translates into 'there are no rules' when it comes to the choice of routine - would encourage more skaters to turn to contemporary tunes was right. There has been a noticeable increase in this type of programmes last season. Some feared that this would take something away from the lyricism of the sport, but anyone who has...
Read more