Crystal Skate

Out of all the short programmes in Marseilles, the men's was the only one not to have any elements of surprise for me. I expect the final to be the same in this battle of the continents - will the gold go to Asia, stay in Europe or move to North America? Shoma Uno  starts the event by proving yesterday's bad performance was an accident. The only error is the over-rotation of the quad Toeloop. He maintains the stance of a tango dancer throughout the routine, which helps link everything together. My favourite element is the triple Axel, set perfectly against the music. His score: 195.69 . Overall: 282.51. For  Adam Rippon  the detail that connects the different parts of the routine is the bird movement he adds to every transition and element. As beautiful as this detail is, it can't save his routine today. He falls on the quad, steps out of the triple Axel, falls on the triple Lutz, doubles out of the triple Loop and possibly double-foots the last triple Lutz. He gets 1...

Against predictions, the top three places of the ladies' event are not occupied by Russian skaters. Evgenia Medvedeva may be first, but Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond is second and Japan's Satoko Miyahara is third. That doesn't mean the podium cannot still end in a full Russian victory. Elena Radionova  seems to have transitioned to a more mature style this season, skating to music like Turandot . I'm not sure if that has something to do with the fact joy seems to have been taken out of her programmes. At least in Marseilles, part of the reason is the fall on the triple Lutz and the mistake on the triple Loop. Her score: 119.83 . Overall: 188.81 . Evgenia Medvedeva, the winner Photo: Tom Szczerbowski Getty Images North America Maria Sotskova  has become the one who's got nothing to lose. She seems to display a newbie attitude, something we've seen so many times before, even from Elena when she first debuted. As the most recent Russian star, this is certai...

Comebacks haven't quite risen to expectations in the past two seasons, but Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's return is unlike any other. After breaking the world record in the short programme, they're looking more likely than ever to win the gold. On second, the Shibutani siblings have just finished ahead of World champions Papadakis and Cizeron for the first time in their career. Can they hold onto the silver medal? Madison Chock/Evan Bates  probably didn't expect to start the final as 6th place holders. They skate to Queen's Under Pressure , keeping the rock style they showed in the short. Their free is not smooth either, but they make no errors per se, just little moments of hesitation in lifts and such. Their score: 108.45 . Overall: 179.32 . Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev  have some original twizzle positions, but their lifts are not at all impressive when compared to the difficulty level of the others. Also, they didn't manage to get into the right posi...

Figure skating is often about momentum. When the favourites make errors, it's up to their rivals to grab the chance to skate away with a gold medal. In Marseille, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are given the rather rare opportunity to defeat world champions Meagan Duhanel and Eric Radford. Will they rise to the occasion or will victors' experience win the title? Before all that, Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau  start the competition with a much better performance than yesterday's even if he falls on the side-by-side triple Toeloops. Elements like the side-by-side spins and the throw jumps are beautifully set to the rise and fall of the soundtrack of Cinema Paradiso . Their score: 125.99 . Overall: 186.85 . Natalia Zabijako/Alexander Enbert  make great use of the epic intro of Cry Me a River  to set their triple twist against a dramatic musical background. Unfortunately, their presentation doesn't convince me - not sure smiling all the way through the routine...

How many times have we said Russia is going to take the first three spots in a competition in the last few years? There is no denying where the most talent is coming from at the moment, especially since the four Russian ladies in Marseilles are not even the ones we were betting on at the beginning of the season. That doesn't mean we should ignore the Japanese and Canadian competing here. They are both powerhouses when at their best. I'd like to start by appreciating how gorgeous Satoko Miyahara  looks in her crystal blue costume for Musetta's Waltz Song . Her jumps may not be high, but they are very fast. There are some exquisite exits out of those jumps too. Her score: 74.64 . Kaeltyn Osmond is finally in top shape after the injury that set her back a couple of seasons ago Photograph: Tom Szczerbowski Getty Images North America Kaetlyn Osmond is pure sophistication on Sous le ciel du Paris  and Milord . Her body language is that of a girl in a French fashion ad ...

Different is always exciting, and I can definitely appreciate how unique each and one of the couples competing in Marseilles are. So although I can't say if the winners of this competition come from Canada, France or the US, I can at least be sure all routines will leave their mark on the viewers. Madison Chock/Evan Bates are grungy, but have it rough not just metaphorically. She falls during a transition, which must be why she messes up the twizzles. Their score: 70.87 . Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir go with a pop classic and a ballad from Prince. Every element of their routine flows into the next naturally. I've said it tens of times before, and I'm happy I get to say it again: their chemistry is the best in ice-dance. They get 80.50  points. It's seduction and a swing party for Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron . I actually like the first part more than the routine of Tessa and Scott, but the swing comes out of nowhere and kind of ruins the mood. There ar...

Do you remember that awkward season when Ilinykh/Zhiganshin and Sinitsina/Katsalapov had just switched partners? Well, we're experiencing that in the pairs' event this season. The swap between Peng/Zhang and Yu/Jin seemed to have been a good decision at the Cup of China, at least for the Yu/Zhang pair, but how will their fare against rivals from Canada and Russia? Let's start with their former partners, Cheng Peng/Yang Jin , who are not doing badly at all. I really like their short routine - it's funny, the costumes are great, the choreography is interesting, the technical is pretty good as well... The only problem is that they don't really look at each other unless they must. I imagine it's not easy being told one day you've a new partner, so it's natural that chemistry will take some time to develop. Their score: 70.84 . The unlikely winners of the short programme, Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov look like t...

One of the most famous rival trios in the history of figure skating is back on ice, competing against each other. Javier Fernandez, Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan are all World champions looking to take the title in Marseille. In the meantime, newcomers from Japan and the US might threaten their podium positions if they make mistakes. The competition is not exactly off to a great start as Javier Fernandez steps out of the quad Salchow and falls on the triple Axel. His jumps look very awkward tonight as he desperately tries to save the last two. In fact, he almost seems to have super powers to manage to stay on his feet at the end of the quad. The crowd is very supporting despite the errors, as they should be. His score: 91.76 . Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan sets himself on the right path to a gold medal on Prince's music Patrick Chan 's short programme is very laid-back and relaxing, set to Dear Prudence  and Blackbird  by The Beatles. His jumps are all clean and beautiful, ma...