The biggest shock was obviously Sinitsina and Katsalapov coming in second. Last season they didn't even get the technical requirement to qualify for worlds and now they're beating out some of the best teams in the world.
Sinitsina and Katsalapov were fine, but they were not exceptional. I really can't believe they beat Gilles and Porier, and Hawayek and Baker. I don't know what happened, but I really didn't see what the judges apparently saw.
Sinitsina and Katsalapov didn't have a great Ravensburger, the choreography is less than exciting, and they don't have the best lines. Their lifts are also strange. They never settle into a position, which leaves them looking like she's rolling around in his arms, and then all of a sudden she's back on the ice.
Also, I really don't understand the motivation to skate to Swan Lake. Nikita already did that with Elena, and it is nowhere near as good. The music they use also doesn't work exceptionally well for the Ravenburger, which makes me question what the hell Marina Zoueva is thinking with these two.
The winners of the event are the ones we all expected to win here. No one is surprised that Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the gold here. Even for them though, the freedance was very sloppy. We're used to Madison having less than great technique, but this week, they were exceptionally sloppy. Madison really needs a strict technical coach to fix her edges and turns. However, a quick fix is for her to just bring her feet together between turns. I went back and re-watched their programs, specifically watching Madison's feet, and not once did I see her feet come together once between their programs.
Piper Gilles and Paul Porier are still the silver medalists here in my mind. They have interesting programs, they're fun and exciting, and they have interesting music choices. I really like their programs, even though I don't really get the theme of the freedance, I like it so much that it doesn't matter to me. It is nice to see dances that are not just typical pretty people skating to pretty music.
They have really nice lines and good technique, but their programs are so similar every year that they are seriously becoming a snozefest. I really want to love Hawayek and Baker, but I would love for them to step out of their comfort zone, even a little bit.
I was really disappointed in the Chinese team here. They have become one of the teams I love to watch, and they had some more interesting programs than some of the other teams, but they really did not skate well here. They had a lot of mistakes, and I'm just hoping they can pull it together sooner rather than later.
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