Race for JGP Final intensifies in Logrono

by Melanie Hoyt | Photo by Daphne Backman

The race for the Junior Grand Prix Final will intensify this weekend in Logroño, Spain, as the top teams battle for the chance to return to Spain in December. With a packed roster this week, it seems likely that at least one team that has earned a silver medal this year will not qualify for the Final. This is only Spain’s second JGP event—Madrid hosted the series in 2008—and Logroño’s first major skating competition. The ice dance roster is made up of 17 teams from 12 countries, including four front-runners with a shot at qualifying for the Final.

Betina Popova & Yuri Vlasenko of Russia are the only team competing in Logroño that has won a JGP event. They took gold in Latvia, the second stop on the series, and are the favorites here. Their score from Riga was 146.35, just shy of their ISU personal best. Since scores tend to increase during the second half of the series, they could top 150 this week with clean skates. Popova & Vlasenko won bronze at the Grand Prix Final last year, and they will secure a return trip with a gold or silver medal this week. A bronze could also do it, but would likely require some help from other teams in the race.

Two teams that have earned silver medals this year need top-two finishes to earn Final berths. Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain Le Gac of France made an impressive JGP debut in Austria a few weeks ago, scoring 144.35 points and winning the silver medal with new ISU personal bests in both segments. Lauriault & Le Gac, only in their second season together, have had an interesting competitive trajectory. They competed internationally as seniors last year and were second in France, but they were not sent to any ISU championships. This year, they have chosen to use their last year of age eligibility as juniors and are excelling on the JGP circuit.

Also with a silver medal to their credit this year are Canadians Mackenzie Bent & Dmitre Razgulajevs (pictured). This new team will need to beat Lauriault & Le Gac to have a shot at qualifying for Barcelona, but at their first JGP event in Colorado Springs, they earned 133.27 points, 11 points less than Lauriault & Le Gac’s first JGP score. The young Canadians did very well in the short dance, but faded a bit in the free dance. Of course, the altitude in Colorado was probably a factor, so they could be right in the midst of things in Spain.

Americans Elliana Pogrebinsky & Alex Benoit could play spoiler this week. They faced a high-scoring field in Austria and placed fourth, just over two points from the podium. They would likely need a win to qualify for the Final, but if they finish second, ahead of Lauriault & Le Gac or Bent & Razgulajevs, the bronze-medal-winning team will have to wait and see what happens next week in the final event of the series. Pogrebinsky & Benoit scored 140.11 points in Austria, placing them in podium contention in this field.

Chloe Lewis & Logan Bye will also represent Team USA in Spain. Lewis & Bye placed fifth earlier this month in Colorado Springs with a new ISU personal best of 128.25. The young Americans have placed fifth in three out of their four JGP assignments since 2013 and could round out of the top five once again this week.

Russians Anastasia Shpilevaya & Grigory Smirnov are a wild card. They have not yet competed this year on the JGP, but are slated for the final two events. Last year, they won a JGP bronze medal in Courchevel and set a new personal best of 121.42 at altitude, but fell to a ninth-place finish and dropped ten points in their second event.

Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha, last year’s Canadian novice champions, will make their JGP debut in Spain. Lajoie & Lagha actually split up earlier this year, with Lajoie teaming up with a new partner and registering for summer competitions with him. They did not compete, though, Lajoie & Lagha re-teamed, and made their season debut in mid-August. Their “Don Quixote” free dance is from last year, though reworked to meet junior requirements. Lajoie & Lagha also made a coaching change and are now with Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, and Pascal Denis. They will be in Spain with training mates Lauriault & Le Gac.

The short dance is scheduled for Friday afternoon, and the free dance will be held on Saturday at noon.