The European champions produced a personal best score of 112.34 points in the free programme to shoot to the top of the overall standings with a combined total of 184.28.

Papadakis and Cizeron were rewarded for their routine which saw them achieve level four elements for lifts, twizzles, spin and circular footwork, with only their diagonal step sequence awarded a level three.

"It is like a dream, we didn't realise yet what happened," Cizeron said.

"After the short dance, we had nothing to lose, we were very determined."

French pair Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron moved from fourth to first during a brilliant free programme in the ice dance to claim the gold medals ©AFP/Getty Images

The leaders in the short dance programme, Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, found themselves pipped to gold again, after receiving a total score of 181.34 points from the two programmes.

The same thing had happened to Chock and Bates at the Four Continents Championships in Seoul earlier this year when they were overtaken in the free programme.

Four Continents champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada earned bronze with 179.42 points, while Italy's reigning world champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte slipped out of the medal places, finishing fourth with 177.50 points.

Japan's defending champion and Olympic gold medallistYuzuru Hanyu leads the men's individual competition after the short programme ©Getty Images



Japanese Olympic and reigning world champion Yuzuru Hanyu began the defence of his title by leading the standings at the halfway stage of the men's individual event, having been awarded a season's best score of 95.20 from the short programme.

Hanyu's recovered from an uncertain start, in which he stumbled after his first quadruple toeloop of the routine, but regained his composure with triple axel, triple lutz-triple toe combination, while he was also awarded level fours for three spins and his footwork.

But he will face stiff competition for the overall men's title, with Spain's three-time European champion Javier Fernandez lying second on 92.74 points with Kazakhstan's Four Continents champion Denis Ten third on 85.89 points.

The men and women's individual competitions are due to draw to a close tomorrow, with Hanyu and women's leader Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia in pole position to be crowned world champions.

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