TALLINN, Jan 14, Sergey Yaremenko. Russian figure skater Nikita Katsalapov called the rivalry his couples with the duet of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin at the European Championships have excellent and adequate wrestling. Dance duets entered the fight at the European Championships in Tallinn on Friday. Victoria Sinitsina and Katsalapov received 87.89 points for rhythm dance. Second are Stepanova and Bukin (86.45), who showed the best result in points scored in rhythm dance in their careers. Rounding out the top three are Italians Charlene Gignard and Marco Fabbri (83.35). The duets will present the free dance on Saturday. «I'm worried about your questions. This is an excellent, absolutely adequate fight. We did not see the performance of Stepanova and Bukin, but we are sure that the guys performed well. We also work without stopping. We have a difficult path with injuries and other things, but Vika and I are moving up. This is the first day of the competition. Great intrigue for the tournament. Everything is great,» Katsalapov said at a press conference. Bukin said that the competition between Russian pairs is a great motivation. «Each team is working, moving forward «Everyone is moving towards their goal. Competition is a great motivator. And we give our best, and the guys work. It will be interesting,» Bukin said.
