Trophee Bompard- Pairs

At the Trophee Bompard, the pairs event had some results that we not exactly what we expected, but with only a short program, this event didn't allow for some of the teams who finished behind where they were expected to to make a comeback.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov won the short program, but I'm not a huge fan of this short program. She is trying to sell it, but he's not great at it, and what they're doing is not what I would consider up to par for a Bollywood program. They made a pretty good return to the big leagues after a season off, but I'm not sure they're going to be able to challenge for the top of the podium at worlds, and may not finish on the podium at worlds at all.

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres made a surprising finish after the short, sitting in second place. They skated well, and they have a program that suits their style. If they can continue to skate this way, they'll stand a good chance at a very successful season.

Another surprise was Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau. They were placed in third after the short. I would say, this will put them solidly in second in the Canadian rankings. They are far more consistent than most pairs teams, and their short isn't my favourite, but it's clear they enjoy the music, and so the programs work for them.

Perhaps the most surprising short program rank was Evgenia Tarasova and Vladamir Morozov. They were in 7th after the short. They were not too far behind in terms of points, Only just over 3 points shy of second, but they still were not nearly as successful as they can be. They are very strong skaters, but they didn't show that here.