This field is potentially the most unpredictable yet of any of the Grand Prix competitions this season. And if you’ve followed Skate America and Skate Canada, you know that’s a big statement. There’s a fairly clear favorite in Adam Siao Him Fa, but then the rest of the competition could go really any which way—and it will.
Grand Prix de France predictions
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GOLD Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - Whatever you think about the backflip being legal in competition, it is Siao who pushed the envelope last season and made the ISU rethink their rules. You’ll see a couple of those this week, but what will be most crucial will be both whether he lands his big jumps AND how cleanly he executes them. He had a bonanza of a competition here in Angers last year that he never was able to match last season. This will be his first big event of the season after winning at Trophy Metropole Nice two weeks ago.
SILVER Mikhail Shaidorov KAZ - He’s perhaps one of the more under-the-radar skaters in the men’s field, because it always seems like he comes into events and all of a sudden pulls off some massive technical content. He’s had one of the biggest scores of the season so far in his win at Denis Ten Memorial. Another performance like that will send him straight to the podium in Angers.
BRONZE Lukas Britschgi SUI - Last year, Britschgi was really one of the breakout stars, particularly in the Grand Prix, where he took fourth and third at his two events on his way to a sixth-place finish at Worlds. It hasn’t been quite as spectacular so far this season, as his consistency isn’t quite there yet. And even so, he’s still taken two silver medals on the Challenger series.
4. Kazuki Tomono JPN - France will be Tomono’s international debut this season, a bit later than he usually starts. But we’ve seen him in domestic events already, most recently taking silver at Regionals in September. He’s had a month to clean things up a bit, and he will definitely need to watch out for those popped jumps, which have plagued his base value in the past.
5. Camden Pulkinen USA - Fully done with college now, Pulkinen moves into the pre-Olympic season really wanting to put himself on the map among the US men. He made it back to Worlds last season but was 20th there. He took fourth at Cranberry Cup in August with two solid skates early in the year.
6. Nikolaj Memola ITA - Memola had a top ten debut at Worlds last season, and he wants to carry that momentum into this one. In both of his competitions in the fall, he had a subpar short and then a strong free. He will need to be a bit more consistent than that here. He was 11th last year at this Grand Prix.
7. Boyang Jin CHN - The former World bronze medalist really had his real comeback season last year. And it was going well until his short program at Worlds, where he popped both of his quads and finished 39th and out of the free skate. But what to watch for with Jin is his very improved basics and artistry, something he hasn’t really gotten credit for from the judges. This will be his debut event of the season.
8. Andrew Torgashev USA - For those who have followed Torgashev’s career, it’s hard to imagine that this is going to be only his second ever Grand Prix event. Though injuries have kept him from being at his best over the past few years, he seems to finally be on the right track. He started off his season well with a fifth-place finish at Cranberry Cup, and then took ninth at Nebelhorn after a subpar short.
9. Koshiro Shimada JPN - Ever the musical skater, Shimada has not figured out how to put it all together yet this season, which continues the pattern that he had last year as well. He was sixth at Skate America, but the free skate was a disappointment for him.
10. Aleksandr Selevko EST - After taking silver at Europeans and then 11th at Worlds, it looked as if Selevko was ready to take the next step to becoming one of the very top skaters in the men’s field. But this season has been inconsistent so far for him, ninth at Lombardia and then eighth at Trophy Metropole Nice.
11. Luc Economides FRA - Back-to-back Grand Prix events for Economides, and I forgot how absolutely chaotic he is in practice until I saw him again last week in Halifax. He was 11th there, and will be looking to be cleaner heading into French Nationals.
12. Francois Pitot FRA - 11th at Skate America, Pitot’s Grand Prix debut free skate was actually quite solid, just marred by mistakes in the short program.