For some, the story in ice dance this week in Stockholm will be about the absence of the four-time and reigning World champions. Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron opted to not competed at Worlds this season. For me, the story will be about the fierce battle for a first World title among the best dance teams in the world. But after a season in which there has been basically no international comparison between teams, a whole lot of high domestic scoring, and a lot of potential questions with COVID and injuries, what do you do really with predictions?
Get ready for some controversial picks.
World Championships predictions
Official hashtags: #WorldFigure #Stockholm2021
GOLD Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - 13 months ago, Chock/Bates were riding high after regaining their national title and winning Four Continents for a second time in two years. They were entering Montreal looking to get back onto the podium for the first time since 2016. Then the pandemic hit, and then in the summer, Chock suffered from a concussion after a fall off-ice. US Nationals in January was their first competition back, and they had some rust to shake off, but with another two months, maybe we will see them at their best and on top of the podium for the first time - and the snake program will finally get its day at Worlds.
SILVER Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - Having not broken the top five at worlds in their long career, could this be the year that they finally figure out their way to the very top? Their absolute strength is their free dance, which for me, is the absolute best of their career. With two clean skates, they could very well step onto the Worlds podium for the first time.
BRONZe Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue USA - Back on top at the US Championships, Hubbell/Donohue will be one of the podium favorites in Stockholm, having rediscovered some of their strengths that brought them to the silver at Worlds three years ago after the Olympics. In a competition that is likely going to be decided based on the smallest of levels and errors, they will be walking a fine line between going for it too much and holding back. Make no mistake, Hubbell/Donohue could very well win this whole thing right out.
4. Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov FSR - It hasn’t been an easy road for the defending World silver medalists this season - Sinitsina struggled with injury early in the season, and then both of them came down with COVID, with Sinitsina having a severe case. They came back and won the Russian Cup Final in late February, but they haven’t been in the most optimal form all season.
5. Aleksandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin FSR - As the case with their teammates, it’s been a rough season for the Russian champs. Despite finally winning that Russian title (with Sinitsina/Katsalapov having skipped it because of COVID), their season was interrupted by injury (Stepanova’s back) and COVID (which both of them reported had). They were not in optimal condition for Russian Nationals, and their on-and-off season may have an effect on how sharp they will be this week.
6. Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker USA - In some ways, not having Worlds last season may have actually been useful for Hawayek/Baker, who never particularly gelled with their free dance last year. They are back with a rhythm dance that they are supremely comfortable with and a free dance that is fully their style. With the best material they’ve had in their careers, a top six finish could be within reach.
TwoSpot watch: For dance, there are a slew of teams looking for that top 10 finish for the second spot, among them are Wang/Liu (CHN), Fear/Gibson (GBR), Kaliszek/Spodyriev (POL), Hurtado/Khaliavin (ESP), Nazarova/Nikitin (UKR).
7. Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri iTA - Thanks to the Italian Grand Prix competitions that were held domestically, Guignard/Fabbri have had some semblance of a season, having competed in front of judges three times for the Italian GP and then again for the Italian Championships. They finished eighth at Worlds two years ago.
8. Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen CAN - Tenth two years ago at Worlds, Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen were having a fine season last year after winning two medals on the Grand Prix. Like others, they will be looking to get back on track to potentially even make a run for the top six. They were second being Gilles/Poirier in the virtual Skate Canada Challenge.
9. Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson GBR - Fear/Gibson haven’t been on competition ice since their career-high fifth place at Europeans last season after a career-best run of competitions. They will be looking to get that momentum back and get a top ten Worlds finish for the first time in the careers.
10. Tiffani Zagorski/Jonathan Guerreiro FSR - Silver at Rostelecom Cup, Zagorski/Guerreiro are coming into their first Worlds since the PyeongChang Olympic season three years ago. They were eighth at that Worlds and will be looking for another top ten finish here this week.
11. Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu CHN - The top Chinese team for quite a few years now, Wang/Liu have made steady improvements since PyeongChang. They are one of the teams whose regular training regimen has been interrupted because of travel restrictions - having only been able to train in China rather than their home base in Canada.
12. Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin ESP - Though Spain has had two dance teams who are very legitimately top 15 in the world, neither team has been able to break through to the top 10 to grab that second spot for the Spanish dance teams. With one fewer top team this year, this may be their best chance yet. Hurtado recently came back from time off the ice after dislocating her shoulder.
13. Natalia Kaliszek/Maksym Spodyriev POL - The Polish champs have had up and down success in the international ranks. They have flirted with top 10 in the past, but have not been able to get there. They finished 11th at Worlds two years ago.
14. Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN - World junior champs in 2019, Lajoie/Lagha have established themselves as the third best dance team in Canada over the past couple of seasons. They get to make their Worlds debut here after missing out last season due to the cancellation.
15. Alexandra Nazarova/Maxim Nikitin UKR - Nazarova/Nikitin have had some of the most competition outings of the bunch. They won Budapest Trophy and were sixth at Rostelecom Cup in the fall.