OH MY GOD. The 2016-17 Grand Prix is finally here! I am excited not only for the series to start, but also because I will be at the event, all three days of competition and Thursday's practices. Make sure you follow me on Twitter for tons of photos, video and updates from Hoffmann Estates! Life has been crazy, prepping for this trip and working the day job, so this predictions post will be short and sweet. Hopefully I can post a more in depth review after the event, but a ton of my updates will be on my Twitter account. LADIES: In the most anticipated matchup of this event, Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner will be fighting it out for medal contention this week. This rivalry has gone back and forth, with neither one having the consistency over time to really emerge as a front runner. But, with 2018 approaching fast, now would be the time to take the reigns. Mao Asada is of course the other big name coming in, but has also been inconsistent. When I look at the field as a whole, I have little doubt these will be the medallists, but beyond that, not much is a safe bet. If Gracie's clean (and that's a big IF) or if Mao can land a triple axel or two (another big IF), either could get the marks to win by a mile. But are those things really going to happen? Overall (and I'm so blessed to live in a world where I can say this) Ashley has been the most consistent as of late and therefore I'm picking her to win. I hope to see her skating with fire and confidence. Speaking of confidence, Gracie really needs to pick herself back up after a rough couple of skates. I think she will skate strongly enough for silver, but make some technical mistakes that will open the door. I hope to see Mao Asada with some higher technical difficulty to place in third. DANCE: With Maia and Alex being so hush hush about their program content, I'm excited to see what they will bring to the table here. Having not competed yet this season, they talked alot in their press conference about all the work they've put into their programs. I'm anticipating a great debut to their season and for them to win the event. As much as I love Hubbell/Donahue, the reception to their new programs (particularly the short) hasn't been warm. I'm hoping the scoring will be different on the Grand Prix and that they can grab the silver here with a strong free dance. Bobrova and Soloviev aren't my favorite as a team, but they have better programs this year and I see them picking up bronze.
Again, this was a short predictions post, but stay tuned for all my fun posts from the event!
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November 2017
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