There are three skaters coming in to Grand Prix de France this week on a hot streak, and all three of them have the potential to put up some huge numbers here. There’s Ilia Malinin, the only guy to break 300 so far this season; there’s Adam Siao, who looks like he’s on a mission after a disappointing Worlds; and there’s Yuma Kagiyama, the Olympic silver medalist finally back after injury. We got three guys who are coming into this event undefeated—a matchup like this is stuff for the Grand Prix Final, but we will get it in the third event of the series.
Grand Prix de France predictions
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GOLD Ilia Malinin USA - At Skate America two weeks ago, you can sense the difference in the way Malinin has approached his programs and his skating this season. There’s greater attention to detail to music, to how he approaches the audience. And it didn’t hurt that he didn’t miss a beat on his jumps there at all. This will be an even more competitive field here, and he can’t afford too many missteps if he is to win his second GP and earn that spot in the Final.
SILVER Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - Undefeated this season, just like Malinin, Siao has truly made some impressive moves, both in increasing his difficulty and in putting down much mroe consistent skates this season. He’s been one who’s known to throw his jumps and see how they go, and there’s a certain feeling of discipline this season that has served him well so far. It’s his biggest test yet, and it’ll be interesting to see how he holds up in a very different pressure environment than his other events.
BRONZE Yuma Kagiyama JPN - In his first season competing since winning silver at 2022 Olympics and Worlds, Kagiyama comes in still getting his full technical content back after his injury last season. And that reason alone is why he won’t be as competitive with Malinin and Siao, but if he can be clean, he’s got the strongest overall skating and packaging of this event.
4. Lukas Britschgi SUI - Britschgi had a breakthrough season last year, taking eighth at the World Championships and becoming the first Swiss man to be in the top ten at Worlds since Stephane Lambiel. The talent has been building steadily with him, and he will enter this Grand Prix event in a very different light than when he debuted on the GP series last season. He was most recently second at Budapest Trophy.
5. Nikolaj Memola ITA - His win at Budapest Trophy was the biggest result of his senior career so far, and the reigning Junior Grand Prix Final champion is looking to bring that energy into his first senior Grand Prix this week. He’s been eager to show that he’s got the technical goods to hang with the best in the world, and this week will be a chance to prove it.
6. Koshiro Shimada JPN - The Japanese silver medalist comes off an uneven season where he showed signs of brilliance but also a lot of inconsistency, which ultimately led to him not getting selected for the World Championships. His first event was solid with a bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy, but he will be looking to continue to show his trajectory toward nationals - this first Grand Prix will be a big test.
7. Camden Pulkinen USA - So which Camden Pulkinen will we get this week? We thought there was a time when we were seeing a change in consistency, but he just hasn’t been able to put together back to back competitions as well as he would like to. He was fourth at Lombardia Trophy to start his season, and he will be looking to take a couple steps up if he is to contend for a top half finish in this event.
8. Boyang Jin CHN - Like Kagiyama, Jin will be in his first Grand Prix event since the Olympic season two years ago. His road back from injury has been rocky, but he’s looking stronger and more at ease with his programs.
9. Stephen Gogolev CAN - 11th at Skate America two weeks ago, Gogolev showed some positive signs of his ability to handle the nerves better this season. He will look to put down a bit more consistency this week on his road to Canadians.
10. Luc Economides FRA - This event last year was tremendous for Economides, who finished sixth with personal bests across the board. He was seventh at Budapest Trophy earlier in the season.
11. Takeru Amine Kataise JPN - Having qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final last year, Kataise has had success in the international junior ranks. This will be his debut on the senior Grand Prix and the biggest senior international event of his young career so far.
12. Landry le May FRA - Fourth at French Nationals last year, le May comes in after taking eighth at Nebelhorn Trophy earlier in the season.