Plain and simple
Who is your favourite French Men singles skater ever.
Post the reasons for your choice and feel free to compare and contrast...
Laurent Tobel
Jean-Christophe Simond
Alban Preaubert
Yannick Ponsero
Eric Millot
Stannick Jeanette
Frederic Dambier
Philippe Candeloro
Brian Joubert
Other: Be sure to comment
Favourite French Men Skater ever
Plain and simple
Who is your favourite French Men singles skater ever.
Post the reasons for your choice and feel free to compare and contrast...
I voted for Candeloro because I saw him skate Live with COI and he really put on a show and got the crowd going.
Sure, Brian Joubert is hot, but just seems a bit full of himself and his edge quality doesn't impress me, either. Ponsero stole my breath and my heart this season. When he's on, he's the whole package. Gorgeous edging, huuuuuuge 4T with beautiful outflow, and great expression and movement. I really hope he can keep his head together and deliver what he's capable of at the Olympics next year!
No prizes for guessing who I voted for...
Philippe Candeloro, because he could spin on his knees.
Philippe had an understanding of combining sport w/ performance that has yet to be matched... A true gift to the sportOriginally Posted by Wicked
I never understand Joubert critism of being arrogant... he's a competitive athlete in a competitive sport and he is quick to own his mistakes and is always very honest with his opinions. His bluntness doesn't upset me like it does some - but like my husband points out, I'blunt so what do I know... And he IS hot...
Dambier
He had a great quad sal, his programmes were more "french" (ie completely off the wall!) than skaters like Joubert.
I loved his choreography, even if he didn't always land the jumps. It's a shame that he had to compete against some of the strongest skaters in the history of the sport Pluschenko and Yags, together with very strong skaters like Abt, Klimkin and Joubert.
EDIT: oh and he is HOT! Hotter than Joubert IMO
Ant
Yes! Another Dambier vote! I thought that he would get several votes, but I was all alone. Now he got at least two votes.Dambier
He had a great quad sal, his programmes were more "french" (ie completely off the wall!) than skaters like Joubert.
I loved his choreography, even if he didn't always land the jumps. It's a shame that he had to compete against some of the strongest skaters in the history of the sport Pluschenko and Yags, together with very strong skaters like Abt, Klimkin and Joubert.
EDIT: oh and he is HOT! Hotter than Joubert IMO
Ant
Joubert simply doesn't skate French. I remember the British Eurosport guys saying at Europeans 2002 (!) that Joubert's style is more reminiscent (did I spell that correctly?) of the strong American "masculine" style.
His influences are Stojko and Yagudin so it's kind of normal. What makes Brian really different to other French skaters is that French skaters (ex: Stannick Jeannette) tend to be more bothered about creativity, esthetics and originality than quads.
Oh, I am not really complaining. Joubert is also the only consistent male single's skater France had in, well, all eternity? And look at the current crop, Ponsero skates French but is such a headcase, it's not even funny any more. Amodio seems to go down a similar road like Ponsero and Contesti was all inconsistent while skating for France and now hits 7 to 8 Triples performances for Italy on a regular basis. There is probably some curse; Joubert is immune and Contesti escaped by changing countries.
I have to admit that i just don't get Ponsero. That ice five (was that what it was called) just had me running from the TV, it was so stiff and wooden, the music was awful....i could go on but will refrain.
Right now I think Contesti out-frenches the whole french team put together. I disliked preaubert trying to do "classical" as well. He should do what he does best and just be himself.
Ant
Don't worry, I didn't understand your comment as a complaint.
Well the curse must be recent, because if one takes skaters like Alain Calmat, then it hasn't alsays existed.
The "curse" is general with French atheltes, not just skaters. French atheltes always perform poorly when they're the favourites but rock the house when they're unexpected.
The irregularity of our skaters' performances might have something to do with our training culture, although I can't say as I'm not a skater myself.
I saw pictures of Candeloro recently and he might want to keep his shirt on!And he had these Russian cossack hops, whatever they were/are called....
His exhibitions were always sure to include the knee spin, the hops, the backflip and most of the time also the removal of his shirt
That's a good point! That LP he had this year (one article described him as "starring in his own spaghetti western"
I'll ignore that bit of heresy about Ponsero, but admit that the Ice 5 outfit was indefensible.Surely being French the guys should have a better feel for fashion?
Finally - my vote goes to Brian, of course, though I'll allow that it took me a while to decide; I love Brian, but he's French by nationality, not in his skating.
Jeanette gets my vote because he was so unique. The LP he did in 2000 really surprised me and caught my attention. No other guy did moves or spins like that. I went to Paris in 2003 to see him live(among other favorites) but he WD after his SP.He disappeared too soon from eligible skating in my opinion. I haven't seen or heard of him in a long time, but I hope he still skates?
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