Skate Canada International 2018 - Pairs SP - The Fruits of Hard Work

France's James & Cipres during their backwards outside death spiral

The second leg of the Grand Prix Series is here. Held in Laval, Quebec, Canada, this competition is going to bring more new skaters to the ice, but also a few skaters we saw last week at Skate America.

As in Everett, the pairs start the event with their short programme. The favourites for the gold would have to be France's James/Cipres, but the hosts are likely keeping their fingers crossed for their own Moore-Towers/Marinaro. Who will come on third? Well, that door is currently wide open.

Evelyn Walsh & Trennt Michaud are the first pair. Their performance at Skate America last week was not memorable at all, but this is quite the improvement. The only mistake is not syncing the side-by-side spins. Score: 59.59.

Camille Ruest & Andrew Wolfe skate to Wild Horses, performed by Alicia Keys and Adam Levine. She puts a hand down on the side-by-side 3Toeloops and falls on the throw 3Loop. Their side-by-side spins are amazing though. Score: 57.53.

I have to express my admiration for Aleksandra Boikova & Dmitrii Kozlovskii's costumes. They complement each other instead of mirroring each other, which is a pleasant change. The only real mistake is again on the side-by-side spins. Score: 64.57.

Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier's relationship on ice doesn't give the right vibe for Billie Jean, but it's probably because of the mistakes. She falls on both the side-by-side 3Salchow and the throw 3Loop. They manage to regain synchronicity during the spins though. Score: 55.31.

Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier from the US chose Michael Jackson's smash hit, Billie Jean, for their short

The Canadian crowd is delighted by Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro. The only mistake is not being in sync during the first position of the spins. Lovely choreography for Leona Lewis' The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, particularly when they start the step sequence apart and then meet in the middle. Score: 71.26.

I thought Cheng Peng & Yang Jin would skate to a classical piece; instead, Ophelia is a cheerful contemporary song that I am now in love with. They make no mistakes and have a fabulous, fast lift. Score: 72.00.

Ekaterina Alexandrovskaia & Haley Windsor skate to Never Tear Us Apart. He doubles out of the side-by-side 3Toeloops and their spins are not entirely in sync. She manages a super save on a scarily diagonal throw 3Flip. Their entrance into the death spiral, with her in a vertical split, seems to be very popular this season. Score: 60.77.

To be honest, my first impression of Vanessa James & Morgan Cipres' programme is that it's not my absolute favourite. However, I think it has a lot of potential to grow stronger as the season progresses. She double-foots the 3Toeloop (I think) and loses her balance during her transition. Score: 74.51.

The first event in Lanval ends as expected. The French start and finish as favourites. I did not expect the Chinese on second place, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by them. Finally, Canada's Moore-Towers and Marinaro are in a perfect position for a bronze. Whether they get it or not, we'll have to see tomorrow.

Quote of the competition is:



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