An even more beautiful story

When a season culminates with the world championships in Montreal, the atmosphere contains something that only Quebec figure skaters can spot. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen, however, have other ambitions by then to be distracted.

Las Vegas will launch the series of six Grands Prix at the end of the week. For the Quebecer and her accomplice from Denmark, this event in the city of the game marks their first real year as members of the Canadian team since Sorensen obtained permanent resident status and they have finished serving, last January, their deprivation of any competition during a year imposed by the International Skating Union (ISU).

"It's getting more and more beautiful," says the Copenhagen native about how their career is going now.

Ambitious goals

After their 10^e rank at the world championships in Japan, last March, the two dance specialists allow themselves to see higher.

The means they have with Canada (medical, financial, training, services, etc.), superior to those of the time when they skated under the Danish flag, encourage them to watch the top 5 worldwide.

Their victory on September 28th in Oberstdorf, a Challenger Series event considered as the antechamber of the Grands Prix, is fueling their appetite as they approach the highest competition circuit.

"It's something that was not in our goals before. We only wanted to perform as best we could at the Grand Prix. Now it's within our reach, "says Laurence Fournier-Beaudry.

"Before, we did it only for us and also for Denmark, because the federation was doing the best it could to support us, but there were no other challenges for us. But if you want to be good in Canada, you have to be really good, and there is a whole team behind us to give everybody the best of luck. We felt it right away. It's increased our level of commitment, "says Sorensen.

Canadian Championship

With the retirement of double Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the Canadian throne of ice dancing will be more accessible than ever at the national championships in Mississauga, January 13-19.

An internal fight is already to be expected with the Ontario duo Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, seventh at the world championships. This final exam will mainly have the function of identifying the three couples who will participate in the Montreal Worlds.

"It's all happening during the season that really makes it possible to build the world championships. It's the end of the season where you have nothing left to lose, "said the 27-year-old.

Many Quebeckers immersed in the heart of the action

The World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal will act as a magnet on many Quebec skaters over the coming months.

The Grand Prix season will be the best playground for them to evaluate themselves in the hope of qualifying for the March event at the Bell Center at the Canadian Championships from January 13 to 19.

Promising results

After a second place in Italy and a victory in Germany by dancers Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen, the third place in the pairs race of Charlie Bilodeau and Lubov Ilyushechkina, in another Challenger Series event in Finland, last Saturday, has an interest in approaching the appointments of the next weeks. This result comes after only seven months of training this new couple.

The Ontarian and her partner from Trois-Pistoles will compete in the Grand Prix in Kelowna and China. Still competing as a couple, Camille Ruest, from Rimouski, and his accomplice Andrew Wolfe will perform in Kelowna and Grenoble.

"We could not hope better. It's really good for us to get better at training and do better at our next competition, "said Bilodeau during their Saturday performance.

Dance and individual skaters

In ice dance, the order books of three duets involving Quebecers will cover the six Grand Prix: Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen (Las Vegas and Chongqing), Carolanne Soucisse and Shane Firus (Grenoble and Sapporo), then Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha (Kelowna and Moscow).

At the individual level, three Quebecers have each been named to a Grand Prix, namely Veronik Mallet, from Sept-Îles, who will see action in Las Vegas, as well as Montreal's Alicia Pineault and Nicolas Nadeau, of Boisbriand (both in Kelowna).