The Japan Times - French take surprise lead over Americans in Olympic ice dancing

Cizeron is bidding for a second consecutive Olympic gold having won the ice dancing title in Beijing four years ago with former partner Gabriella Papadakis.

The 31-year-old teamed up with 33-year-old Fournier Beaudry last March.

The scene is set for a battle for gold with just 0.46 points separating the top two couples going into Wednesday's free dance finals.

"The game is always on, and you should know us by now: we're not changing anything," said Chock.

"We've got this locked in, we know ourselves, we know our routine, and we got this."

But Fournier Beaudry warned: "We are very ambitious. We came here to win gold. It's a big ambition."

At the Milan ice rink, the millennial generation had a blast with 1990s music from Ricky Martin, George Michael, the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys.

The French chose Madonna's hit "Vogue", inspired by voguing, an urban dance style born in New York's LGBT community and focused on arm movements, which the couple admitted represented a "major technical challenge."

After a final test of their routine during the team event, they improved their score by two-tenths of a point compared to Friday's performance, achieving a personal best.

- 'Release some tension' -

Cizeron wore a black jumpsuit, while Fournier Beaudry was decked out in a pink corset reminiscent of Madonna's conical, Jean-Paul Gaultier-style bra.

"I think we gave the best performance we could this evening," said Cizeron. "It wasn't 100 percent perfect."

Chock and Bates, three-time defending world champions, and winners of team gold on Sunday night, performed last.

"I'd say that tonight, our goal was really to loosen up a bit," said Fournier Beaudry.

"We managed to release some of the tension that was there at the beginning of the Olympic Games.

"Tonight, it was about having a bit more fun and leaving with a feeling of liberation."

The Americans' electrifying routine to a Lenny Kravitz track earned them 89.72 points, below their season's best set on Friday (91.06). They were downgraded in a step sequence.

In a sequined tiger-print dress, they ignited the crowd and when their score flashed up it drew some boos from spectators.

"It's hard to analyse the performance so in-depth," said Chock.

"Our coaches will figure that out when the time comes.

"But we're really happy with how we performed and we're going to bring that feeling forward."

The French won their first title the European championships in January, a sixth for Cizeron, who was also a five-time world champion with Papadakis.

Canada's Piper Gilles and Poirier are in third position on 86.18 ahead of Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (85.47)

Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbi are fifth with 84.28.

K.Yamaguchi--JT