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Best Pairs Skaters in the World Are Training in Euless

The Russian team of Vladimir Morozov and Evgenia Tarasova is training alongside the top U.S. team -- Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc

The ice at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Euless is world class. First to practice on it Tuesday morning is a Russian pairs team, currently ranked number one in the world.

But Texans Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, ranked number one in the U.S., are close behind them and said practicing close to their rivals is helpful.

“Just to see them skating and training, and their process — it pushes us and it gives us a target, basically, to aim for,” said LeDuc. “Like this is the top of the world, this is where we’re going, so this is what we need to do to get there.”

“We want to be on that top step as well, but we know that we need to get their on our own terms,” said Cain. “But it’s really nice to be pushed by them — especially going into such a big competition.”

The Russian team, Vladimir Morozov and Evgenia Tarasova, has been training in Texas for the past week. Coaches Peter and Darlene Cain are their hosts, they are also the coaches of Cain (their daughter) and LeDuc.

They’re all preparing for the 2018 Skate America competition in Everett, Washington this weekend.

The Russian team of coaches includes Maxim Trankov. He’s a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a first-time visitor to Texas.

“It’s like really, really authentic America,” Trankov said. “Because you can see the cowboys and the beautiful animals, farm animals, and it’s like a really cool experience.”

Spending time in the U.S. before competing here helps the Russian skaters fine-tune, while sharing practice ice with other elite skaters is bound to make each athlete better.

“So, it just kind of shows how everyone is working together now in this sport and I think that that’s what’s going to push this sport forward — especially here in America,” Cain said.

Ashley and Timothy will also head to Moscow to train on the Russian team’s home ice before the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series competition in that country.

The Skate America competition is Saturday and Sunday, it will air on NBC on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

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