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Gilles and Poirier second after short dance at ISU Grand Prix

BORDEAUX, France – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in second place after Friday’s short dance at the Trophee Eric Bompard, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are first at 64.45, Gilles and Poirier followed with a season’s best 63.94 and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia are third at 60.64.

“We couldn’t be happier, we are in striking distance of first place,” said Poirier, third with his partner three weeks ago at Skate America. “We increased our scores in several areas and there are still a few levels we can improve.”

The couple feel they are ahead of last year’s pace.

“We took the last couple of weeks to really iron out a lot of small details. That’s a part of the process we were not yet doing at this point last season,” added Gilles.

Patrick Chan fifth

In men’s competition, Shoma Uno of Japan is first after the short program at 89.56, Maxim Kovtun of Russia second at 86.82 and Daisuke Murakami of Japan third at 80.24.

Patrick Chan of Toronto, in his second competition in his comeback season, is fifth at 76.10. Chan didn’t complete his quad jump and put his hand down on a triple which cost him points.

“It was a shaky opening popping the quad,” said Chan, the gold medallist at Skate Canada two weeks ago. “I had a little bit of hesitation. All practices here had been really good but in the moment of pressure and expectations I kind of rushed through it and didn’t commit to every part of it.”

Chan says he is pleased with his progress so far after sitting out all of last season.

“All the mistakes I made at Skate Canada were successful here so you win some and lose some. That’s what the Grand Prix season is about and mistakes are usually to be expected.”

In pairs, first-year seniors Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., produced a personal best 64.95 to stand third after the short program. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia lead with 74.50 and Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France are second at 65.75.

“It was really satisfying for us to increase the level of the entire program,” said Séguin, third with her partner at Skate America. ‘’There were a lot of technical elements in particular we needed to improve such as the spiral for which we increased to a level three.’’

In women’s competition after the short, Gracie Gold of the U.S., Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia second and Roberta Rodeghiero of Italy are 1-2-3.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., earned 55.35 for sixth but is just over three points from third place.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2015 Trophee Eric Bompard.

ISU Grand Prix circuit continues as Canadians head to France

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of six skaters, competing at the Trophée Éric Bompard from November 12-15, 2015 at the Mériadeck ice rink in Bordeaux, France. Canada will have one entry per discipline at the event which is the fourth stop on the 2015 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 24, Toronto, Ont., leads the Canadian team in men’s. This will be his second international assignment since returning to competition after taking the 2014-2015 season off, having won gold at the 2015 Skate Canada International. The representative of the Granite Club has previously competed at this event five times, winning gold on four occasions (2007, 2008, 2011 and 2013). He is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

Canadian champion Gabrielle Daleman, 17, Newmarket, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ladies. This will be her first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, she placed fourth at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy and fifth at Skate Canada International. Daleman is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club.

Canadian bronze medallists Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the Canadian pair entry at the event. This will also be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, they placed fifth at the Nebelhorn Trophy on and won bronze at their first ISU Senior Grand Prix assignment, Skate America. The representatives of CPA Longueuil and CPA Chambly are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 23, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their third time competing at this event, having won silver last year and placing sixth in 2012. Earlier this season, they won gold at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy and bronze at Skate America. The representatives of Scarboro FSC are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Benoît Lavoie of Baie St-Paul, Que., and Jean Senft of West Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2015 TROPHÉE ÉRIC BOMPARD

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 24 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 17 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Pair Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 19/22 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 23/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs