Thursday, November 15, 2012

TEB: Men's preview

 
The men’s event at Trophee Eric Bompard is kind of weak, especially in comparison with NHK Trophy next week that will host Fernandez, Takahashi and Hanyu. None of the skaters listed here have medaled in a grand prix this year yet. On the other hand some of them withdrew, or could withdraw later, due to different injuries.
Jeremy Abbott could be the winner here as he is basically the best in this competition. He debuted at Skate America and ranked third in the short program but struggled in the free skate because of a spine problem.
Jeremy Abbott is one of those skaters you really want to have a successful program because his quality and commitment to the music is supreme. However he is not that consistent as anyone would like and rarely shows all his potential at the beginning of the season. But this competition is not very challenging and he could go for gold.
Florent Amodio could be a gold contender. He is not as sharp as Abbott, but he has a great charisma on the ice.
As Amodio is a loved skater, the heart of French crowd beats for former World champion Brian Joubert. Brian debuted at Cup of China but, as saw in the previous years too, he withdrew after the short program, so he could possibly withdraw here too. He is a good skater, I am not sure he will be competitive in the next few years on the world stage because he is not so good at components, but in some competitions he could be a top skater for his great jumping content.
Someone would probably name Tomas Verner for a podium prediction. Maybe we’re going to see a Brezina-like competition getting a bronze here, but Verner is dramatically unconfident about his jumping since three years and didn’t seem more solid on his previous grand prix. I would rather consider Nan Song as a podium contender despite his accident at cup of China. He seems to have had a good recovery after the collition with Adam Rippon and he has all the qualities for being on the podium.
 
PODIUM PICKS
Gold: Jeremy Abbott
Silver: Florent Amodio
Bronze:Nan Song


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