Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud (CAN) in the Pairs Short Program in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in France at Angers © ISU
Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud (CAN) won the Pairs Short Program as the first day of competition at the Grand Prix de France ended Friday in Angers (FRA). The Grand Prix de France is the third of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series that features top Figure Skaters competing and collecting points to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN) on December 7-10.
Pereira/Michaud (CAN) upset favorites and seize the lead
Canada’s Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud upset top favorites and reigning ISU European Champions, Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii of Italy to take the lead in the Pairs Short Program. To the delight of the home crowd, France’s Camille Kovalev/Pavel Kovalev came in third.
Skating to “River” by Bishop Briggs, Pereira/Michaud laid down a strong performance that was highlighted by a set of triple toes, a triple twist, throw triple loop and three level-four elements. The Skate America silver medalists achieved 65.97 points, a new personal best.
“We're really proud of our skate today,” Pereira said. “We try to take every new competition as a learning experience and to push ourselves to skate better and better each time.
“We put a lot of work in our programs in the off -season, so we're always excited to show the work that we put in and we're really proud of how well we did that today.”
Conti/Macii completed a triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and got a level four for their twist and the lift.
Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA) in the Pairs Short Program in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in France at Angers © ISU
However, Conti stepped out of the landing of the throw triple loop and the death spiral, step sequence and combination spin were rated a level three. The ISU 2023 World bronze medalists earned 65.31 points.
“We are happy because we feel we skated well. We love this program,” Conti said. “We have little mistakes in the program, and we lost a few points in the second part of the program, but that is sport. We want to skate clean tomorrow,” she added.
“The short program, is a new choice. It's a tryout as a short program for the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina,” Macii noted.
“It's a very important program for us because this music was the wedding music of my grandparents. My grandfather was basically like my father. He passed away two years ago. We hope that this season we can make him proud of us.”
Kovalev/Kovalev landed a triple twist, throw triple flip and a side by side triple toe in their routine set to “The Feeling Begins” by Peter Gabriel.
Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev (FRA) in the Pairs Short Program in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in France at Angers © ISU
The only glitch came when he fell on the exit of the side by side spin. The husband-and-wife team earned a season’s best of 59.04 points.
“At the end, we made really stupid mistakes, it's like breaking the final mood of enjoying this program with mistakes that never happen,” Camille Kovalev said.
“Last year it was a big surprise for us to have a (Grand Prix) medal. We just prepared as much as we could for this event, because we won this medal, so it was more stressful. That's why the mistake maybe happened,” she said.
Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (USA) are currently ranked fourth at 58.46 points followed by Ellie Kam/Danny O’Shea (USA) on 54.75 points.
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN). Skaters collect points to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN).
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series can be found here.
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed with English commentary on the official ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out Where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
20 - 22 Oct, 2023 Skate America, Allen (Texas, USA)
27 – 29 Oct, 2023 Skate Canada International, Vancouver (CAN)
03 - 05 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
10 - 12 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN)
17 - 19 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
24 - 26 Nov, 2023 NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN)
07 - 10 Dec, 2023 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Beijing (CHN)
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