Figure skatingExpect surprises at Grand Prix of France

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Cynthia Phaneuf of Canada skates her short program a Skate Canada International in Kingston, Ontario, on October 29, 2010. AFP PHOTO/Geoff Robins (Geoff Robins/AFP/Getty Images)

The home of the final ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event is Paris, France this coming weekend.  Over the course of the six events, the skaters are vying to finish in the top six in each discipline in order to qualify for the Grand Prix Final taking place in December in Beijing, China.  There are still spots to be claimed based on the results of this competition.

The top two spots on the pair's podium are fairly easy to predict.  The two-time world and reigning Olympic bronze medallists from Germany, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy easily took the title at Skate America.  It would be shocking if they didn't do the same thing in Paris. 

Their next closest competitors are Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov of Russia who took the silver medal at the NHK event in Nagoya, Japan at the beginning of the Grand Prix season and are blessed with a beautiful skating style.  Rounding out the podium could be Canadians Mylene Brodeur and John Mattatall who posted a season's best score for the short program at their first grand Prix in Nagoya and were in the top ten at worlds in 2009.

In ice dance, Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France are currently ranked fourth in the world and are the heavy favourites for this event in France. Pechalat and Bourzat are solid technically and were able to take the title at the Grand Prix of China without too much difficulty.  They are looking for their second season win here and a spot for Beijing. 

The challengers

Their biggest challengers will be teammates Pernelle Caron and Lloyd Jones whose free dance was not all that well received at its debut in Skate Canada.  They are undoubtedly looking to improve on that impression. 

On the other hand, the American team of Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein took the bronze medal in Kingston on the strength of their charming Cabaret free dance and are hoping to build on that momentum.

Inconsistency is the theme

There is a common theme running through the ladies event:  consistency or lack thereof.  There are a number of favourites headed into this competition and they all suffer from the same problem of frequently not being able to deliver when it counts.  The defending and two-time world champion and reigning Olympic silver medallist, Mao Asada of Japan was disappointing to say the least in her season debut in Nagoya with an eighth place finish. This was attributed to a change in jump technique from new coach Nobuo Sato. Mao will hopefully have profited from the intervening five weeks since her first event. 

American Alissa Czisny won Skate Canada on the strength of winning the free program after a fourth place finish in the short.  Conversely, Canadian national silver medallist, Cynthia Phaneuf won the short program decisively at Skate Canada only to skate a seventh place free program and fall to fourth place overall. 

American Mirai Nagasu was the short program leader at Cup of China, was fifth for the free and dropped to fourth overall.  In other words, the title in France is up for grabs which will make for a very exciting competition, especially with the caliber of talent in this event.

A compelling story

The story is perhaps most compelling in the men's event where 2007 World champion, Brian Joubert continues to look for redemption.  The fourth place finish was not what he had hoped for at the Grand Prix of China in a season where he was aiming to dominate the competitions from one end of the season to the other. 

His biggest challenger will be his competitors from the same event, Takahiko Kozuka of Japan who took the gold and American Brandon Mroz who won silver in Beijing.  The other dark horse in this event could be Canadian "Quad King" Kevin Reynolds who made history at Skate Canada by being the first man ever to perform two quad jumps in the short program.
 
Pj's podium picks:

Pairs: Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (Germany)
Dance: Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat (France)
Ladies: Mao Asada (Japan)
Men: Takahiko Kozuka (Japan)

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