Sawt Falasteen - French skater Siao Him Fa soars to victory in season-opener at home

The former two-time European champion had built a comfortable lead after Saturday's short programme which he extended in the free skate to the tranquil sounds of Patrick Watson's "Here Comes The River".

His performance earned him a strong score of 181.78 points for an overall total of 284.24.

Japan's Kao Miura climbed from ninth position overnight to second -- 36 points behind his French rival.

South Korea's Seo Min-kyu, competing in his first senior season, took third place.

Reigning Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov who won a surprise gold in Milan in February, had a difficult competition.

The Kazakh skater fell several times to slump to 10th and now has virtually no chance of qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.

For Siao Him Fa, who finished a disappointing seventh at the Winter Games, it was a "promising" start to the season.

"I'm quite satisfied with my performance, even if it wasn't perfect," said the former world bronze medallist.

"It's very positive. It's very encouraging for a first Grand Prix and the start of the season."

Unlike in previous seasons, when his programmes were often defined by a dramatic, high-energy build-up toward the finale, this year he opted for an "intimate and calm" free skate.

Striking that delicate balance was a complex task for the 25-year-old in his fifth appearance at the Grand Prix in western France.

"I know I still have plenty of room for improvement," he said.

"Since August, things have been steadily improving. It's also gratifying to see the results reflect that, and to be able to put what I do in training into practice during competition."

Earlier, Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava won the pairs event.

Despite a fall on a throw triple Lutz in their free skate, they finished ahead of Russians Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, who were competing under a neutral flag, and also took a tumble.

Germany's Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel took third place.

The next stop in the six-leg Grand Prix series will be Skate Canada next weekend.

The top six skaters in each discipline then qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China from December 10-13.

K.AbuTaha--SF-PST