FIGURE SKATING
Upbeat Guignard/Fabbri (ITA) on track for Grand Prix hat trick after Rhythm Dance in Angers (FRA)
01 Nov 2024
Two-time European Champions Charlène Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) are on track for their third consecutive ISU Grand Prix de France title after the Rhythm Dance as the third event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series 2024/25 continued in Angers (FRA) Friday.
They lead with four and a half points to spare ahead of France’s Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud. The 2024 ISU European bronze medalists Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania are currently ranked third.
Guignard/Fabbri looked very confident in their performance to “Land of 1000 Dances”, “For Once In My Life” and “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”, and entertained the crowd at the Angers Ice Parc, showing off their intricate footwork and a rotational lift.
The two-time ISU World medalists picked up a level four for the twizzles and the lift. However, the pattern dance type step sequence was rated a level two. The Italians scored 82.20 points.
Guignard/Fabbri (ITA) entertained the crowd as they bid for a third Grand Prix de France title in a row © ISU
“We worked on a lot of details (since the last competition). We didn't change big, big things compared to the first competition we had this season,” Fabbri explained.
“We just worked on a lot of details and we will surely work on other details for the next events and maybe change something but we're pretty happy with today's performance.
“At the first two competitions of the season, when we stepped on the ice we didn't feel really that we could control the entire program while today was probably the first time we everything was under control even if there were some things that could have been better,” he added.
Dancing to “Night Flight to Venus” and “Rasputin”, Lopareva/Brissaud got the home crowd going right away and produced a season's best performance with 77.75 points. The French Champions collected a level four for the twizzles and level three for the lift and pattern dance step sequence.
French Champions Lopareva/Brissaud got the home crowd going as they shook off the Skate Canada jet lag to post a season's best © ISU
The French pair looked fresh even though they had competed across the Atlantic at Skate Canada only last week.
“We had 20 hours of flight, we slept and we tried to recover,” Brissaud noted.
“Basically, we already did back-to-back competitions already. We are young so we can do this.”
Lopareva enjoyed skating in front of their home crowd. “The audience was so supportive and full of love,” she commented.
“We didn't have much time to work really something, but I feel like we kind of warm up ourselves in Halifax, so when we arrived here in France, I feel we were already in this flow of competition.
“It was easier to skate and I felt we were a little bit more grounded because we also get a little bit better technical scores, higher levels.”
Reed/Ambrulevicius’ fast-paced performance to “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” by Rod Stewart was highlighted by a rotational lift and level-three twizzles. The 2024 ISU European bronze medalists earned 74.49 points. The couple has a busy schedule as well and competed in Nice about a week and a half ago.
“We didn’t have much time. We're right now testing the program, we're seeing what works what doesn't,” Ambrulevicius said.
Reed/Ambrulevicius' (LTU) long search for the right music paid off as their fast-paced Rod Stewart routine earned third place in the Rhythm Dance © ISU
Reed acknowledged that they had a hard time choosing their music.
“It seems like such a vast amount of options considering like the one decade just the 80s it was like there's so much music and now we have three [decades],” she shared.
“Our playlist was 50 songs long and nothing seemed to really be working. We love rock ‘n' roll and our Guns N’ Roses program was one of our favorites of all time. We knew we still wanted to draw on something that we really enjoy. Rod Stewart is a rock ‘n’ roll artist but the music that we chose is his homage to disco. So we thought it was a cool mix of something that we enjoy and wanting to try something new.”
Emily Bratti/Ian Sumerville (USA) came fourth with another upbeat performance to “Brick House” and “Daddy Cool” (72.81 points) closely followed by Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac (CAN) at 72.54 points. The 2024 ISU World Junior Champions Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) ranked sixth (71.86 points).
For full entries, schedules & results, see the ISU Grand Prix series page, ISU Grand Prix de France event page and the official Grand Prix de France website.
Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:
Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance
What & When
The schedule of the Grand Prix de France is as follows:
Friday, Nov 1: Pairs & Women’s Short Programs, Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program
Saturday, Nov 2: Pairs, Women’s & Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance
Sunday, Nov 3: Exhibition Gala
Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:
- 18 - 20 Oct 2024 Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
- 25 - 27 Oct 2024 Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
- 01 - 03 Nov 2024 Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
- 08 - 10 Nov 2024 NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
- 15- 17 Nov 2024 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)
- 22 - 24 Nov 2024 Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:
- 05 - 08 Dec 2024 Grenoble (FRA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known as the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
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