Paris competition will see Chan face China’s teen star
Virtue, Moir heavy favourites in ice dance at Trophée Bompard
PARIS In what could be a preview of the Sochi Olympics, world figure skating champion Patrick Chan will face budding Chinese star Yan Han at the Trophée Bompard this weekend.
Chan, from Toronto, is a threetime world champ and won Skate Canada last month. The 17-year-old Yan, the 2012 junior world champ, won the Cup of China this month.
Other contenders include Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, European runnerup Florent Amodio of France, Michal Brezina of Czech Republic and Jason Brown of the United States.
U.S. Olympic champ Evan Lysacek is still sidelined by a hip injury.
Japanese skaters Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda lead the standings and skipped the event. Takahashi and Oda finished first and second, respectively, at the NHK Trophy last week.
In the women’s competition, the field will be weaker as Kim Yu-na of South Korea, Japan’s Mao Asada and Italy’s Carolina Kostner are missing.
Kim pulled out because of a right foot injury. The Olympic champion will return to competition next month at the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia, where she will debut her 2014 Olympic programs.
Olympic silver medallist Asada tops the standings and has already qualified for the Dec. 5-8 Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, Japan, by winning Skate America and the NHK Trophy.
European champion Kostner will try to clinch a spot for the GP Final at the Cup of Russia next week after finishing third at the Cup of China.
Main contenders for the gold medal in Paris will be Anna Pogorilaya, Ashley Wagner of the United States and Adelina Sotnikova of Russia.
The 15-year-old Pogorilaya landed seven triple jumps in her free skate to win the Cup of China.
Wagner won the 2012 Trophée Bompard and finished second at Skate America last month, and European runner-up Sotnikova took the silver medal at the Cup of China.
In pairs, Olympic runners-up Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China will compete against world bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont.
Duhamel and Radford look to rebound from a flawed free skate that made them slip from first to third at Skate Canada last month.
Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia are skipping the event. The world champions have already qualified for the Grand Prix Final by winning Skate America and the NHK Trophy.
In ice dance, Tessa Virtue, from London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., are the heavy favourites as their U.S. rivals, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, are not participating. Davis and White won Skate America and the NHK Trophy, to book a spot in the GP Final.
Virtue and Moir are the Olympic champions and took the gold medal at Skate Canada.
Outsiders include Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France, and Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia. The French duo won the European championship in 2011 and 2012 and took the gold medal at the Cup of China this month.
The Trophée Bompard begins Friday with short programs and short dance.