It's sad that the last GP is already here
Men
1. Abbott
2. Fernandez
3. Hanyu
4. Brezina
5. Gachinski
6. Mroz
7. Menshov
8. Rogozine
9. Voronov
I think the top five will be VERY interesting and possibly close. Still, I think that if Abbott remains standing he wins. He should dominate in the PCS department. Fernandez will probably out-TES him, but he really does have a lot to improve, and his LP is nowhere close to Abbott's imho. Hanyu and Brezina are a toss up too, but I think Hanyu will podium unless Brezina pulls off a quad or two. Brezina had lower PCS than Rippon last weekend, so I think that he'll need those jumps to come close to Abbott. I've yet to be impressed with Gachinski, but this is the Cup of Russia...he could medal, too. Mroz and Menshov were both dreadful at their last event, Rogozine is inconsistent, and Voronov has never really shined in a high caliber competition like this one.
Ladies
1. Asada
2. Sotnikova
3. Leonova
4. Gao
5. Korpi
6. Imai
7. Zawadski
8. Biryukova
9. Flatt
10. Lacoste
I'm sure Sotnikova will be eager for a win here, but I think this is Asada's to lose if she performs like she did in Japan. When "on", she is miles above everyone else in this field. I still think the silver will be easy for Sotnikova, though. Leonova will probably end up on the podium again, but I would much rather see Gao, Korpi, Imai....or pretty much anyone else
. Zawadski and Flatt both had surprisingly poor performances at their first events and could both fall behind Biryukova. Lacoste also had a poor showing, but sadly that wasn't surprising to me in the least. Hopefully they can all improve here.
Pairs
1. Savchenko/Szolkowy
2. Kavaguti/Smirnov
3. Gerboldt/Enbert
4. Berton/Hotarek
5. Solbova/Klimov
6. Hausch/Wende
7. Cain/Reagan
8. Jones/Gaskell
I thought the Germans would easily beat K/S at their last matchup, but I was clearly wrong. I hope S/S ditch the 3A throw and focus on performing two almost-clean performances. IF they can do that, they SHOULD be fine. But crazier things have happened this season, to be sure. I think that the bronze will be a rematch between the Coupe de Nice podium toppers. B/H beat G/E by 0.02 points there, but I predict a swap here. I felt that B/H were gifted at their last event. The last four are a complete toss-up for me.
Dance
1. Davis/White
2. Bobrova/Soloviev
3. Weaver/Poje
4. Riazonova/Tkachenko
5. Tobias/Stagniunas
6. Pushkash/Guerrerio
7. Carron/Jones
8. Reed/Reed
D/W should win this by a huge margin (of course), but i'll be interested to see if B/S can close the gap in their home country. Still, D/W's FD has been one of the highlights of the season so far and I can't wait to see it again. I was honestly left cold by W/P and their (her) reaction in China and wouldn't be upset at all if they didn't medal here. Still, I don't think that any of the other teams can catch them.
except I think he believes in his dream.
