With just two more competitions left before the Grand Prix Final spots are decided, 2021 Internationaux de France this week could earn a couple of skaters here their spots without even looking at the final event. Yuma Kagiyama and Jason Brown have good looks at that Final, but they will need to keep it together in a field that is a bit more competitive than either of the ones they were in in their first Grand Prix.
2021 Internationaux de France predictions
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GOLD Yuma Kagiyama JPN - Given the field here, Kagiyama will not be able to afford the kind of come-from-behind heroics that took him from seventh to gold in Italy two weeks ago. Maybe it was Grand Prix debut butterflies, but that short program was surprisingly off for him. A good short will be key, especially against the likes of Sato, Brown, and Messing. But this is also a chance for him to continue to establish himself as an Olympic podium favorite - a 300-point total would go a long way toward doing just that.
SILVER Shun Sato JPN - With a bum shoulder / collarbone after a fall in practice at Skate America, Sato rallied to take fourth at Skate America four weeks ago. He certainly has a whole lot of potential and some of the easiest looking quads in the world. If he can pull it all together, he could very well have a shot at winning this whole thing.
BRONZE Jason Brown USA - For Brown, this competition is less about what medal or whether he makes it to the Grand Prix Final, even though he’s got a great shot after his silver at Skate Canada. It’s more about him continuing to solidify his free skate, which he had some issues with three weeks ago in Canada. His short feels like an automatic program for him, whereas the free is a bit more of a minefield. It will be important for him to get and maintain confidence in that program ahead fo Nationals.
4. Keegan Messing CAN - A scary fall on a relatively simple jump at Skate Canada during his free skate completely unraveled the rest of that program for Messing - and given that he hit his chin with some great impact there, many thought he should have been stopped in the middle of that program with concussion protocol. It’s three weeks later now, and he’s had some time to recover from that skate. At his best, he’s very much a medal contender here.
5. Deniss Vasiljevs LAT - On the heels of a very strong fourth at GP Italia, Vasiljevs scored a personal best free skate there and delivered two of his best skates ever. He’s on a solid trajectory coming in, but we’ve seen him be up and down in the past even from competition to competition.
6. Andrei Mozalev RUS - Since winning Junior Worlds in 2020, Mozalev hasn’t been fully living up to his potential the past couple of seasons. He has been more inconsistent in his senior events, and he hasn’t quite found is voice in his programs just yet. He won Ice Star and was third at Denis Ten Memorial, but this will be his biggest test yet this season.
7. Dmitri Aliev RUS - Ninth in Italy two weeks ago, the 2020 European champion has seen his season slip during each competition this season. His strongest showing was at his very first event at Finlandia. We know what he’s capable of, and it will be absolutely important for him to make a strong statement here both for his own confidence and for the domestic judges’ belief in him heading into Russian Nationals.
8. Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - After strong showings at Lombardia and Nebelhorn took him to silver at both events, it looked as if he was going into his first Grand Prix series with a whole lot of promise. But whether it was jitters or just happenstance, his debut at Skate America was not up to the standard he had set for himself. He has a chance to redeem after that ninth-place finish at Skate America.
9. Kevin Aymoz FRA - It’s been four weeks since Skate America, where Aymoz was hampered by both his recovery from a groin injury over the summer and a new toe injury that forced him to withdraw after a very disappointing short program. We will see whether it’s been enough time for him to both recover and properly train for this event.
10. Artur Danielian RUS - Tenth at Skate America four weeks ago, Danielian has had a tough time getting back to the form that won him the surprise silver two years ago at Europeans due to an injury that took him out of last season altogether.
11. Romain Ponsart FRA - It hasn’t been an easy ride for Ponsart over the past 18 months. Like many skaters who train abroad, the pandemic forced him to be away from his training base, and he’s had to adapt. He’s shown signs of solid skating in the short this season, but has yet to put together a consistent competition.
12. Gabriele Frangipani ITA - He’s had a lot of variation in his performances internationally - it does seem like one mistake often snowballs into a full-out disaster for him, and he will want to have a more solid mindset this week in his second Grand Prix. He was 11th in Italy two weeks ago.