The competitiveness of the women’s event at 2021 Rostelecom Cup extends past the podium race. There is a lot of depth in this field, including every skater having the potential to earn 190+ points - and that is a high bar even for a competition like this. A lot of eyes will be on the potential Russian podium sweep, and which of those skaters can go into the Grand Prix Final and Russian Nationals with the edge. It may be another international competition, but there is a lot at stake.
2021 Rostelecom Cup predictions
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GOLD Kamila Valieva RUS - Skate Canada was something of a turning point for Valieva, who has put down a lot of great skates but hasn’t necessarily been able to put together two clean programs very often, especially with the increased difficulty of her two programs. But her win at Skate Canada came on the heels of two near-clean programs, and you wonder if she can repeat that in a second competition in a row.
SILVER Elizaveta Tuktamysheva RUS - With two silvers - both behind Valieva - coming into Rostelecom Cup, Tuktamysheva is once again proving that her staying power continues. Her persistence and insistence that she is one of the best skaters in the world has been undeterred by the new skaters who are coming on the scene around her. With her trust triple axel, she seems to be able to go anywhere, including the potential of finally making it to the Olympics.
BRONZE Maiia Khromykh RUS - Up until last week, Khromykh was looking more and more like she could have a real path to an Olympic spot. After all, she has multiple quads in her free skate, and that additional base value helps her a lot, even if her skating is yet not as strong as her teammates. But last week was a surprise, as she made multiple mistakes in the free skate at Warsaw Cup and ended up below 200 points for the first time this season. Will she rebound this week?
4. Loena Hendrickx BEL - Belgian champion once again, Hendrickx carries a whole lot of confidence after a bronze at GP Italia and then some career-best skating at the Belgian Championships. Of all the skaters here, she is the one who could really shake up that Russian podium sweep, but without the big jumps, she will need to skate cleanly and rely on some mistakes from the top three in order to sneak in there.
5. Mariah Bell USA - Coming into the Grand Prix with two different programs than what she started her season with, Bell is going back to back in competition weeks after a sixth-place finish last week in France. Her free skate was very promising, and it was the first time in a while that we’ve seen as clean of a free skate from Bell as we saw last week. Her short program - particularly the flip-toe - will be most crucial for her. If she can get off to a solid start in the short, she could make some noise here heading into US Nationals.
6. Viktoriia Safonova BLR - Safonova is known for her consistent skating, though her rotation technique is sometimes prone to underrotations. She won her last two competitions coming in - Denis Ten Memorial and Ice Star, two smaller internationals. It may very well be her short program that gives her the edge over a couple of the other competitors who have similar scoring potentials.
7. Madeline Schizas CAN - Schizas continues to be the top Canadian woman this season, and she’s got the jumps and the strong basics to be able to hit a 200-point competition. She will need to be stronger, especially in the short, to get herself up with the top half of this pack.
8. Ekaterina Kurakova POL - She has been on a competition tear this season - this will be her fifth international in three months. And she’s been very consistently scoring in that upper 180s range, which will put her in this middle pack.
9. Rino Matsuike JPN - Sixth at NHK Trophy, Matsuike perhaps hasn’t yet had the breakout senior season that some were expecting from her, especially after some really strong performances last season. She has a lot of promise, but this event will be key for her in her quest as an outside contender for an Olympic spot for Japan.
10. Ekaterina Ryabova AZE - Like Safonova, Ryabova has a history of steady, consistent performances. But while they are consistent, her programs aren’t as strong as most of the other skaters here, especially when you compare foundational skating.
11. Eva-Lotta Kiibus EST - Kiibus’ results this season may be the most topsy-turvy. There is a 60-point difference between her season highest total score and her season lowest total score, which is incredibly rare. She’s not only competing against the skaters here, but she’s also trying to make sure she keeps herself ahead of teammate Niina Petrokina, who has put up some strong scores in her senior debut season. Estonia has one spot at the Olympics for the women’s event.
12. Olga Mikutina AUT - Mikutina is coming in as very much an unknown quantity right now - but it’s not because of her potential, because she showed that last season with a surprise eighth-place finish at Worlds. Rather, she’s been recovering from a right knee injury since the summer, and that has taken her out of competition all season, including a withdrawal from NHK Trophy two weeks ago.