There’s never a good way to figure out how scores compare to each other when you’re going across competitions, but one has to be curious about how Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron’s scores in Italy two weeks ago, and this week at 2021 Internationaux de France, will compare to the scores that their likely closest rivals, Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov, got last week at NHK Trophy. All the while, there are other teams who are looking to use this competition as another stepping stone toward their goals for this all-important Olympic season - below the top three, it will be a very tight race with lots of teams who are very close to each other in skill level.
2021 Internationaux de France
Official hashtags: #IFP2021 #GPFigure
GOLD Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron FRA - Since 2014, they have taken gold at every non-Final Grand Prix event except one, and that was in 2016 at NHK Trophy. Their dominance over the past eight years has been stunning to watch, but as decorated as they are, the one title they are focused on is the Olympic title that eluded them four years ago. They are the heavy favorites here and should have no problem getting the gold and booking a spot at the Grand Prix Final.
SILVER Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - Two wins going into this event - one at Autumn Classic and one at Skate Canada - this will be their first international outside of Canada for the season. And it will be important for them to have a strong showing here, especially when looking ahead to their chances at an individual medal at the Olympics. Their bronze at Worlds was a breakthrough, and they will look to capitalize on that breakthrough with both a Grand Prix Final qualification and a strong skate here against the other two top teams.
BRONZE Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin RUS - Bronze at GP Italia, they come into France in much of the same position, trying to find a way to move into that second spot to try to gain some momentum heading into the second half of the season. At their best, they can absolutely give silver a run.
4. Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis FIN - The two former singles skaters have found in each other a fantastic pairing that has turned them into arguably the strongest Finnish dance team since the great Susanna Rahkamo/Petri Kokko three decades ago. They make their first appearance on the GP since GP Finland three years ago and have a great shot at finishing in the top five.
5. Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko USA - It has been a season of adjustment so far for Carreira/Ponomarenko, who have medaled on the Grand Prix before, but were all of eighth three weeks ago at Skate Canada. They know they have stronger skating in them and will look to redeem themselves this week in this very close field.
6. Annabelle Morozov/Andrei Bagin RUS - Fifth at Skate America, Morozov/Bagin will be using this opportunity as another data point for them on their quest for the third Russian Olympic dance spot - they have an outside shot, and they will be looking to improve on their programs at Skate America to continue to make their claim.
7. Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud FRA - Sixth at Gran Premio d’Italia, the second strongest Frenc team has made some strides this season. Their rhythm dance has been more of the hurdle for them this season, and they will be looking to improve on that to get into the top half.
8. Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius LTU - They were a career-high 15th at last season’s Worlds, and they have also made steady improvements since they partnered up four years ago. They took silver at Budapest Trophy a few weeks back.
9. Jennifer Janse van Rensburg/Benjamin Steffan GER - They’ve been on the scene for six seasons now, and they finally make their debut this season on the Grand Prix series. They were seventh most recently at Cup of Austria.
10. Loicia Demougeot/Theo le Mercier FRA - Making their move to the senior level, the two-time French junior champions are in their third international of the season. They took bronze at Coupe de Nice earlier in the season.