Crystal Skate

The winners of the day, Russia's Natalia Zabijako & Alexander Enbert The level of difficulty is not very high in the pairs competition in Helsinki, but like I said yesterday, this is a chance for some of the pairs we usually see around the podium to have a taste of being top contenders. It's going to be a great lesson for all of them, I'm sure. Laura Barquero/Aritz Maestu  start off with an improved performance since yesterday, despite a few mistakes still creeping in: the side-by-side combination is way out of sync and the Axel lasso lift is very shaky. That being said, all the other lifts are breathtaking - they make great use of her unbelievable flexibility. Score: 98.63  -> 149.54 . Miu Suzaki/Ryuichi Kihara  begin with a dodgy 3Twist lift, after which she double-foots the 3Flip and falls on the throw version of the same jump. So, today is not a day for the Flip. I really like the very last part of the choreography, when everything seems faster because...

If the ice dance finale was unmissable to the host country of Internationaux de France, the pairs finale is going to be the second most anticipated event. France's national champions are competing for the silver medal, and they're in the perfect position to get it after the short. Lola Esbrat/Andrei Novoselov  are the first pair to skate. They struggle as she doubles out of the 3Salchow, he can't get her into the lasso position for the first lift and they can't perform the side-by-side spins completely in sync. Presentation wise, I'd like to see The Great Gatsby  come through more in the choreography. Their score: 94.82 . Overall: 146.72 . Zoe Jones/Christopher Boyadji 's first Grand Prix free skate is peppered with mistakes, a lot of which are probably due to her not feeling well. She falls on the side-by-side 3Toeloops and the throw 3Flip, doubles out of the 3Salchow and double-foots the throw 3Loop. The side-by-side spins are not in sync either. They earn...

The calmest discipline of this season's Cup of China was the pairs'. Although we didn't see a lot of drama or unexpected plot twists, the competition was a warm-up for what is sure to be a more tumultuous season for the pairs. Here are how the top five pairs in Beijing performed: SHORT Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek  finished the short programme in 5th place. They skated to Tu vuo fa l'Americano , a comedic song that went viral a couple of years ago. At first I thought the routine wasn't as funny as advertised, but they picked up the comedy in the second half of the programme, once the difficult technical elements were out. With a bit more practice, I'm sure they'll manage to spread out the fun throughout the programme rather than concentrate it in the second half. Their score: 68.48 . Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro  were in the perfect position to 'steal' a medal after the short. They skated to Sweet Dreams , a blues song that would h...