described it as "another of his bifurcated black and white, rhinestone-studded costumes with plunging backline". According to figure skating reporter Elvin Walker, Weir demonstrated a desire to win and a new passion for skating throughout the season, skating with an intensity he lacked in previous seasons. He was ranked seventh-best skater in the world. At Cup of China, Weir came in second place, after Lysacek, in the short program, with 79.80 points. He did not include a quadruple jump but completed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination and had higher-scoring spins than Lysacek. He came in first place in the free skate, with 151.98 points and "a nearly perfect" performance. He earned 231.78 points overall, and "significantly beat" his personal best scores. Lysacek came in second place, and two-time world champion, Stéphane Lambiel from Switzerland, came in third. Weir also won the gold medal at Cup of Russia, beating Lambiel by over 11 points. He came in first place in the free skate, which was described as "somewhat business-like and more suited for the strong technicians rather than the artistic skater Weir is known to be". He opened his program with a strong triple Axel-triple toe loop combination and underrotated his triple Axel, but successfully completed five more clean triple jumps. He also completed three level-four spins and good footwork. His two Grand Prix wins made him eligible to compete at the Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy, where he came in fourth place. Despite severe back pain, Weir felt better trained going into the U.S. Nationals than ever before. NBC reported that Weir was "more about business in both his short and long programs", skating with "usual elegance, but not his fire". Weir won the short program, with 83.40 points, 1.35 points separating he and Lysacek. Weir was one of the few skaters who completed a triple Axel during his short program, his triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination was "done with ease and control". His footwork was "light and a perfect match for the music". In the free skate, even though Weir had not skated a full program in practice for almost two weeks due to his back pain, Weir and Lysacek were evenly matched in their jumps. Both two-footed their quadruple jump (Weir attempted a quadruple toe), both had similar entrances into their jumps, and both completed seven triples. Weir followed up his quadruple toe with a triple