2015 Trophee Eric Bompard Half-Recap!

I hesitated with what to do about last weekend’s Trophee Eric Bompard in Bordeaux for a couple of reasons. First of all, the tragic events in Paris obviously eclipse a silly figure skating competition, and I questioned the tastefulness of snarky commentary about a competition in France that was canceled halfway through due to the terror attacks. Secondly, it is incredibly unclear what this event means in the big scheme of things, as the International Skating Union is still debating on how to count these results in Grand Prix Final qualification. Is it really fair to use short program results as the final standings? Should the Final be expanded to include more skaters in the interest of fairness? And what to do about the many top skaters who did not have good short programs here? The OCD completist in me will not allow myself to skip this event, so I will give a half recap for this half event.

Men

My adopted child Shoma Uno did me proud this weekend with a lights-out short program. The jumps are still scary, but everything else is fabulous. He reminds me of a young Daisuke Takahashi. That kind of natural performance ability can’t be taught. He flourished here while other top skaters faltered and probably punched his ticket to the Grand Prix Final. I’m obsessed.

Is Maxim Kovtun a skater who should be getting 8’s in program components? It’s fitting that he is skating to a song called “I Can’t Dance.” No performance quality. Poor posture and lots of ugly crossovers. I don’t even want to talk about the sequined guitar top. His jump technique is hit-or-miss, but it worked in the short here. I respect the man for attempting two quads in a short program. He always looks so exhausted when he’s finished skating. Do the Russian men ever practice full run-throughs?

Daisuke Murakami probably could have beaten Kovtun had he not popped the back half of his combo. When you’re not a performer, you can’t afford to give us a single toe. After Frank Carroll and Lori Nichol made Gracie skate to Phantom last year, this year they gave Dice Les Miz. I also like to turn to ‘80s mega musicals when I’m phoning in a program.   

I was surprised to see Denis Ten show up to this event, and Frank Carroll might have been too. He looked marginally better than he did at Skate America, but this was still a pretty rough performance. It doesn’t look to me like he has landed a quad toe in a while – or trained this program at all for that matter. Will he get it together in time this season? I always have my doubts, but he always pulls through. Praying.

Patrick Chan opened his short program with a double toe+double toe combination. I can’t say I have ever seen that combo performed by a top men’s skater in international competition. Patrick does not currently have a technical coach on his team. His dance coach is running the show…..or rather Patrick is running the show himself. For a skater who has never had a good triple axel (which gave him problems again here), I don’t think that’s wise. This is the second event in a row where Patrick bombed the short program, but unlike Skate Canada, other guys skated well and he didn’t get a chance to pull himself out of the hole in the long program. He can’t keep botching short programs if he wants to win Worlds in a much more competitive field than he faced in that 2010-2013 period when he was unbeatable. Question: why do straight male skaters feel so inordinately drawn to Mr. Rogers sweaters? It’s figure skating. Glam it up a little bit. Patrick’s Grand Prix Final fate in unclear. He might be secretly relieved to miss it, as he clearly has some work to do.

After shocking everyone at Skate America, Old Max Aaron came back and bombed badly in Bordeaux. Max has historically been a skater who checks out after he makes a mistake. After botching his opening combo, the program was over. Max had the dead eyes, like he had for most of last season. The perfectionist in me can relate, but a champion knows how to give a performance even when the jumps aren’t working. That’s the biggest difference between Max and the likes of Yuzuru Hanyu, or even Jason Brown. He redeemed himself later in the week at a cupcake competition in Estonia, but missing the Grand Prix Final after winning in a tough Skate America field is a big blow to Max’s international standing. It will be interesting to see how he recovers at Nationals.

Ladies

Gracie Gold proved that she’s in it to win Worlds. Gracie can be her own worst enemy in competition, but I knew she would not let herself lose after Ashley Wagner won Skate Canada. Ashley is the one skater who really has the ability to get under Gracie’s skin (and vice-versa). It’s a rivalry that is fantastic for U.S. skating, and it’s driven both ladies to be better skaters. Gracie showed up to Bordeaux in amazing shape, looked like a million dollars, and nailed that short program like she has never nailed a program in international competition. The judges rewarded her with the highest short program score of the season so far. It’s a shame Gracie didn’t get a chance to back it up in the long program, because I really believe she was ready to nail that too. Let’s hope she keeps the momentum going.

Yulia Lipnitskaya was better here than at Skate America, but she was honestly lucky she didn’t have to do a long program. Even though she landed everything, the flip and the axel were scary, and those aren’t even her worst jumps at this point. Yulia has ditched the Lisa Frank explosion dress and had much classier styling here. She still looks kind of miserable skating to that peppy Elvis music, and she looked murderous in the Kiss and Cry when her much-improved effort was still a good nine points behind what she was getting back in the Olympic season. In the days since she left France, Yulia has fired Eteri Tutberidze and is now training with Olympic Champion Alexei Urmanov. She no doubt hated getting her butt kicked by Evgenia Medvedeva every day in practice, but I question whether she’s just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic at this point.

The half-bronze medal went to someone named Roberta Rodeghiero, who I have never heard of before. I love my Italian girls, but Roberta lacks the majestic skating quality of Carolina Kostner or the flirtatiousness of Valentina Marchei. If you’re going to be portraying Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, you need to give me more than just white gloves. Still, Roberta didn’t embarrass herself, so snaps for her.

Kanako Murakami showed up with her new sassy short hair, but also her single axel and her weird mule kick jump technique. It was sadly not enough to get on the half-podium, and I was really counting on her to pull through for my fantasy team. This is probably the year she finally gets edged out of Worlds in a tough Japanese ladies’ field, though I do find her skating to be much more enjoyable than it was in the past.

There continues to be a dark cloud hanging over the head of our reigning World Champion. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was on fire at every competition last season, but now she looks perpetually exhausted. Much like my girl Tonya Harding, Liza’s success hinges on whether or not she lands the triple axel. If she misses it, the program is over. There were zero clean jumping passes in this short program from a woman who has a reputation as the best jumper in the ladies’ field. No one has ever accused Liza of being artistic, but at least she used to be entertaining. Now she’s just kind of sleepwalking. We need to talk about the new dress. I’m all for bringing the sex to figure skating, but I do not believe nude illusion on one breast is appropriate. I mean, we used to chastise Katarina Witt and Tonya Harding because their skirts were too short. I can’t imagine why anyone thought this was a good idea. Liza’s result here probably takes her out of the Grand Prix Final barring an intervention from the Russian skating fed (not impossible). Let this girl take a nap before Russian Nationals and hope she gets it together.

Pairs

Trophee Eric Bompard saw the return of Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov. They looked pretty rough at their one early season event, but they were much better in Bordeaux. These two are still the ideal pair team: incredible skating skills, beautiful lines, and a commanding presence on the ice. And now they're skating's favorite newlyweds! They get amazing height on their twist and throws, and she has wonderful extension on those lifts. Their programs are never as good as they are. Bollywood is not an impossible concept for a figure skating program – look at what Meryl Davis and Charlie White in Vancouver. The choreography is kind of phoned in here, and they don’t sell it enough. I can’t really fault them for lacking in presentation, as it is difficult to get the technical elements back after taking so much time off. It might have been wiser to go for something a bit more traditional. Tatiana and Max received the highest short program score of any pair this season. I don’t agree, but it shows that they’re very much in the mix for the World Title. Tatiana allegedly injured herself this week, so they might be out of their next event and the Grand Prix Final. We won’t know how they really stack up with the competitive international pairs’ field until Euros and Worlds. It should be very interesting.

The surprise half-silver medalists were the French team of Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres. I’ve always been a big fan of these two, mostly because he has an amazing body and she is always serving the sass. Their skating is very powerful, but they can be a bit sloppy. At the end of the day, they nailed it when other top pairs didn’t. The scores were higher than I would have given, but they were on home ice. I’m looking forward to seeing how they stack up in a tough field at NHK Trophy next week, and if they can keep the momentum going for a spot in the Grand Prix Final.

I was pleased that Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau backed up their great results from Skate America with a strong performance here. They have excellent performance quality, strong skating skills, and very polished technical elements. I also think they have some of the best styling of the top international pairs. With some wild results from the first several Grand Prix events, these two can conceivably sneak into the Final. I’m crossing my fingers.

This was a disappointing season debut for Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao. I secretly really like them even though they make me uncomfortable. I always call them my favorite father/daughter team because of their extreme age difference. His amazing core strength and her limber physique make for some of the best lifts in the pair field, and they have that pristine Chinese quality on their twists and throws. They normally have some intriguing and surprisingly effective programs (Lori Nichol and those Chinese pairs….), but this short program is a bit of a snooze. I’m never a fan of instrumental Beatles arrangements. It’s a bit muzak-y for my taste. Peng is an exquisite skater, but the girl can’t jump. It’s been evident for several seasons now, and she only seems to get worse. In a very strong Chinese Pairs’ field, these two need to skate much better this weekend in Russia to secure their spot at Worlds.

I figured Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran would get buried in a tough field in Bordeaux even with a good skate. I thought they were much improved here from their performances in Skate Canada, and their program components should have been higher. It’s tough to get great international scores when you’re a new team, especially for the U.S. pairs. We don’t have the best reputation in this discipline.

My girl Evgenia Tarasova has inherited the dark mark of training mate Ksenia Stolbova. Last year, she couldn’t miss an element, and was her partner who usually screwed up. This year, she’s made errors in every single program at every international competition. It’s becoming a bit disconcerting. Maybe the return of Volosozhar and Trankov has sent the Nina Mozer camp into disarray. Tarasova and Morozov don’t have the programs to fall back on when the technical elements aren’t going well. This was the lowest energy interpretation of “Lord of the Dance” I’ve ever seen. With a dismal 7th place finish here, the Grand Prix Final is likely out of the question.

Ice Dance

We were destined to get weird results here when reigning World Champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillame Cizeron withdrew due to injury. I’m just happy the half-gold medal went to my low-key sometimes favorites Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue. Madison and Zach have always been a little behind the curve due to Madison’s chronic injuries. Their skating skills are excellent and they have good chemistry, but the technical elements are not always sharp. They looked very strong and polished here. The move to new power coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon was a positive one. Their packaging is very sophisticated where they've had some real mess programs in the past (thinking of last year's Great Gatsby disaster). With this half-gold medal, Madison and Zach are in the running for the Grand Prix Final for the first time, which means we could have three U.S. teams at that event. When did ice dance become our discipline??

I really thought this would be a win for Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, but international judges are not responding to that short dance. I appreciate their uniqueness, but really....where is the connection between "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Mozart? The neon Sgt. Pepper suits are a little too Halloween for me. The whole thing is just bizarre and not in a fun way.

I'm always surprised that international judges don't have more love for Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. They're attractive and Russian. What more do you want? She has legs for days and knows how to use them. I also appreciate their innovative sitting twizzle position. Their styling is very classy and distinctly un-tacky - a rarity for Russians in ice dance. It's probably time for them to leave their coach and find someone with more political power so they can move up the standings. I'd have had them in 2nd here.

Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland will always look like a pair team to me. The height difference is way too much for ice dance, and their dance holds look very awkward. I found it interesting that this team went for a very traditional waltz, when they usually go a bit more out of the box due to their strange look. It didn't really work for me.