The ISU Challenger Series Nebelhorn Trophy 2018 opened on Thursday with the Short Dance, Ladies and Pairs short programs in Obersdorf, Germany. Canada’s ice dancers Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier took a confident lead in the short dance with 77.40 points.
How do you feel about your skate today?
Piper:
I felt a little nervous before practice, but the moment we got in the arena, it felt like we were ready for this, we just had to figure out a way to settle the nerves. Actually, this is the first time we really had to wait that long to do our program. Usually we’re second or third in the group, so this time we had to teach ourselves how to maintain our energy and don’t get stale and stiff during that break.
Paul:
I think for the first competition this was a really good performance. Coming out of a full Olympic cycle, this off season felt really long for the two of us. When we got here it felt like I hadn’t competed in years, even though it hadn’t been that long. So I think, as far as the first competition goes, we’re very happy.
On the other hand, we know there’s a lot of work to be done on this program. We know where we want this program to be, we missed quite a bit of training during the off season and that slowed us down. We know where this program can be, we know how good we can be and that’s where we want it to get further into the season.
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