While we will miss CB at worlds USA is in good hands with Z/K who have a great chance to step on to the podium. CP will move up and they will be assured three spots for next year.
Could ZK beat Piper and Paul? I think i t is prejudged like at the olympics the French are the team to beat (ot sure the word is prejudged) I worry because I thought Piper and Paul with their RD and FD at olympics deserved gold and I am not sure they can recapture that FD which was amazing. But I do want them to win for it seems this team has had a lot of roadblocks in their way from cancer, judging and arguably they should have had a world title. I do fear they are the new Weapo team although they did win an olympic individual medal. But ZK look great for a medal. And Green and Parsons are no slouches but there are a lot of very good teams including Guillaume and Laurence; Piper and Paul, Z/K, France 2, CP, Fear and Gibson, the Lithuanians, LaLa and a couple of eastern european teams all could beat them even without CB and Italy.
We do not know what's going to happen. Yes, especially in ice dance, it's not unusual for skaters to be prejudged prior to the competition. In an Olympic year, judges also tend to stick with Olympic results. But, with C/B out, anything could happen. I definitely root for PiPa to win gold, as they should have won Worlds at least once or twice already.
I suppose Z/K have a chance to move up to the podium because they are better skaters than Fear/Gibson. But F/G have been overly favored for a while. Lilah had errors and nerves at the Olympics which took them out of podium contention there. I do not see Green/Parsons suddenly being viewed favorably despite how good they are. Their stock, for whatever reason, has been down with the judges. Lajoie/ Lagha are excellent ice dancers, too, but they have not stood out with their choice of material over the past few seasons. They need a complete reset and revamp in the off-season to find material that will enhance who they are on the ice. Picking overdone, safe material has done them no favors.
Regarding Allison & Saul, they are a fun team to watch, and they picked material this season that is right in their style wheelhouse. Thus, things have worked exceedingly well for them, but in terms of SS, they are not one of the best teams. It will be interesting to see how they (and a lot of teams, including F/G) will fare with the Golden Waltz RD next season. Being an I.AM team helps Allison & Saul with the judges. Since they have scored well all season, I suppose they have a chance to fight for the podium. Still, there are much better teams than them, including Z/K, G/P, and even Olivia & Tim, IMO.
Lopareva/Brissaud, the second French team are not my cup of tea. They are talented for sure, but I find them overrated. L/B lost a bit of momentum with the judges due to French #1 FB/C's successful new partnership return. Car/Pom have been helped to improve by their coaches, Moir/ Hubbell. Yet, C/P did not have the best season with their choice of material, which is why they switched back for the Olympics to last season's well-received
Perfume FD. I actually preferred Z/K, G/P, and the Browns much more this season than Car/Pom. Whatever the overall outcome at '26 Worlds, the U.S. should have no problems maintaining three spots for ice dance.
They had two wonderful programs and Desyatov was the perfect ice dance partner for Isabella. They were definitely on-the-rise. In fact, their compelling partnership and their Kaitlyn Weaver choreographed programs have had a huge influence on their peers.
