Chinese figure skating pair Peng Cheng and Jin Yang finished fifth at the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Figure Skating Internationaux de France in Grenoble on Saturday, while Russia's promising star Alina Zagitova climbed from fifth after ladies short program to claim her second Grand Prix title of the season.
After collecting 125.74 points in free skating, Peng and Jin finished with a total score of 188.14 points. They were also placed fifth at Skate Canada International late in October.
Top three pairs after Friday's short program were kept intact, as Russia's Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov won with an aggregate of 218.20 points. The second and third places went to local figure skaters Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres, and Italy's Nicole Della Monica/Matteo Guarise respectively.
Starting from a triple Lutz-triple loop combination, 15-year-old Zagitova pleased crowds with her high-quality performance throughout the program. She set her personal best of 151.34 points in free skating, and 213.80 points overall was sufficient to earn her a ticket to December's Final in Nagoya, Japan.
"I'm not very pleased with my short program, but I am pleased with the free skating, because I did everything to the maximum," Zagitova told ISU website.
Zagitova's compatriot Maria Sotskova was second. Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond, who sat atop 11 participants after short program, had to settle for a bronze medal.
Two-time men's world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain maintained his leading position after short program despite two falls in free skating, en route to the champion with a total of 283.71 points.
Japan's Shoma Uno and Uzbekistan's Ge Misha were also on podium.
Home favorites Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron continued their peerless display in ice dance, nailing their highest score of 120.58 points in free dance, and an overall of 201.98, shattering previous record they set at the Audi Cup of China two weeks ago.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States were positioned second. The bronze medal went to Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia.
Internationaux de France was the penultimate stop of this season's ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix, and attracted a total of 58 skaters/couples from 15 ISU members.
After next weekend's final stop of the season in Lake Placid, the United States, top six finishers in each discipline will qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
