Trophée Eric Bompard Revists Old Matchups, Raises New Questions

by Jacquelyn Thayer | Photo by Julia Komarova

If the line-up at this week’s fifth Grand Prix stop in Paris seems eerily familiar, there’s a good reason: all but two of the teams here began their series at Skate Canada International in Windsor, placing in spots 2-7. This week’s roster adds a team who has already placed first in a Grand Prix event, but even so, the final standings can’t be so easily predicted in this massive rematch. With two more weeks of work under each team’s belt and the introduction of one top-ranked team and one wildcard of a young couple, considerable shuffling may occur.

France’s Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat were victorious at Cup of China two weeks ago, and are in good position for a second win here at home, an event where they also took gold in 2010. A second win will also seal their return visit to the Grand Prix Final. In the short dance in Shanghai, the team became one of the few so far this season to achieve a level 4 on one polka sequence, though only level 3 on the second. Their Rolling Stones medley free dance earned especially strong technical marks, with level 4s on all elements save for level 3s on the diagonal and circular step sequences. However, the outing wasn’t without a snag, as they also incurred a one-point extended lift deduction. With only one full week between assignments, Péchalat & Bourzat are unlikely to have made any significant tweaks to either program, but should, if Cup of China was an indicator, come out with plenty of polish regardless.

Italians Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte took silver at Skate Canada, an event that saw the team coming within .03 of a new personal best short dance score, and finishing with a 17-point lead over bronze medalists Ekaterina Riazanova & Ilia Tkachenko. While their technical scores, including the highest TES in the short dance, were quite strong in an event that saw tough marks across the board, room was also left for improvement: both step sequences in the free dance earned only level 2s, and their short dance polka patterns and step sequence, level 3s. Although the team was among the more technically proficient last season as well, their work with Igor Shpilband is assisting in that further development. Too, their programs to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Carmen take keen advantage of their performance strengths and should be successful here as well. With their silver from Skate Canada, a medal here should assure Cappellini & Lanotte of their second career trip to the Grand Prix Final.

Ekaterina Riazanova & Ilia Tkachenko (RUS), like Cappellini & Lanotte, have begun working with Shpilband, an effort that helped them towards that strong finish at Skate Canada. However, while they easily took bronze at that event, neither performance was flawless. Improvement in the short dance will be a particular point of emphasis here, with their polka sequences at Skate Canada earning only levels 1 and 2 and the second earning a negative GOE. The PCS for both their My Fair Lady short dance and The Godfather free dance, however, was solid, and with the training time between events, their technical marks should increase. As an additional note, this will be the duo’s second time competing at Trophée Eric Bompard, where they won silver in 2010.

Americans Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue placed fifth overall at Skate Canada after a difficult sixth-place free dance, for which they earned level 4s on three lifts, but a level 1 on their spin and low GOEs across the board. However, their PCS of 43.94 was the fourth-highest in the segment. Their Titanic-inspired short dance also placed fourth overall in its segment with a score of 54.84, with the team again earning solid program component marks but facing technical issues, including a level 1 on their second polka sequence. Based on their results last season, as well as at Finlandia Trophy, the couple is capable of much stronger technical marks than they received in Windsor. However, given the complex nature of their flamenco free dance in particular, additional training time may be just what was needed.

Skate Canada fourth place finishers Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (CAN) will be competing for the first time outside of North America. Though the team placed only fifth in the short dance, their “Wild Spirits” free dance earned stronger marks, pulling them up a spot with its score of 83.03. Their technical marks were their primary strength at the event, with the two earning the third-highest TES in the short dance and several level 4s in their free dance, though level 2s on their midline step sequence and curve lift. However, more problematic were their program components: their PCS in the short dance ranked seventh of eight teams, and fifth in the free dance. If the team can maintain or improve upon their levels here, they can certainly repeat their placement from Skate Canada, but a sharper Hubbell & Donohue would serve as their key threat to such a recurrence.

Julia Zlobina & Alexei Sitnikov of Azerbaijan may have been one of the surprises of Skate Canada, finishing sixth overall but placing as high as fifth in the free dance with a score of 81.88. Their achievement was largely on the strength of their technical work, with the couple receiving level 4s on most elements of their Balkan medley free dance. Their short dance, however, placed seventh, revealing major areas for work, including levels 1 and 2 on their polka and step sequence. Both circular and diagonal step sequences in the free dance, too, earned only a level 1 and level 2 respectively. Zlobina & Sitnikov’s achievement at their very first Grand Prix assignment was, however, notable, and it will be illuminating to see how they perform here. At any rate, the French crowd should enjoy their lively programs.

France’s contingent is rounded out by Pernelle Carron & Lloyd Jones, who most recently placed seventh at Skate Canada. While the result was disappointing after improved numbers on last year’s Grand Prix circuit, it also came in a close contest which established only a six-point difference between themselves and fourth-place finishers Gilles & Poirier. More recently, the team won NRW Trophy, seeing better marks than at Windsor, though against a rather different field. The team’s results here, however, can also be improved upon from that first Grand Prix event, with the two having experienced particular twizzle issues in the short dance that dropped the element to a level 2 with a negative GOE. Their moody, tango-derived free dance to Jacques Brel, too, earned several level 4s, with the step sequences and spin being their major challenges. A better outing in Paris is certainly within reach.

For Russians Ekaterina Pushkash & Jonathan Guerreiro (pictured, right), Trophée Eric Bompard serves as their only Grand Prix assignment for the season. The team easily finished second at Crystal Skate behind Elena Ilinykh & Nikita Katsalapov with their short dance to selections from Cirque du Soleil and Tristan and Isolde free dance. Over the summer, the team also became training mates to Ilinykh & Katsalapov, joining Nikolai Morozov’s camp after leaving Natalia Linichuk’s base in Aston, Pennsylvania. It remains to be seen how the change will impact Pushkash & Guerreiro, who last season finished sixth and seventh at their first senior Grand Prix events, but working alongside a high-ranking team has certainly proven beneficial for other young teams. 

Practices begin Thursday, November 15, with the short dance closing out the first official day of competition on Friday. The free dance is slated to conclude Saturday’s schedule.