BORDEAUX, France — Two-time junior world champion Elena Radionova took the lead in the women’s short program at Trophee Bompard on Friday while Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia topped the pairs competition.
Skate America winner Radionova nailed all her jumps while skating to salsa music to score a season best 67.28 points, closely followed by her compatriot, world runner-up Julia Lipnitskaia (66.79).
Defending champion Ashley Wagner was third with 61.35. She looks to become the first American since Michelle Kwan in 2001 to qualify for three straight GP Finals.
Meanwhile, Olympic silver medallists Stolbova and Klimov scored 71.20 points with a short program to the sounds of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The Rostelecom Cup winners were 3.93 points clear of China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the runners-up at Skate Canada.