French Nationals 2013-2014. Dec. 12 to 15th

LRK · Dec 15, 2013

Yes, that's what confuses me... Amodio - or his programs - never get the same kind of flak that Brian does. On the contrary. And I feel mean saying that - it's not that I sit around wondering "Hey, why does no one pitch into Florent?!" - it's just that I don't really get the dissonance. But so it is. Brian is "The Jumper", so nothing he does apart from that can be any good - while Florent is "The Artist", so obviously he can do no wrong in that department... It's the only explanation I've been able to come to as to the discrepancy... Oh, well... (shrugs) I'l (try to) shut up about it now; don't want to bore everyone silly.

PS - just a little thing more... They're for ever denigrating Brian's skating skills - and I mean skating skills, not transitions. "Skridskoskicklighet" - apparently he's got... none.

Buttercup · Dec 15, 2013

Ziggy said:
The majority of Joubert's programs (in terms of choreo and transitions) are very basic... but so are Amodio's! Both Amodio's programs this season are really empty and have hardly any redeeming features, to be honest. Amodio does have better posture and lines and whilst his SS aren't as good, he has very smooth edges. But I don't really see how the big gap on the PCS is justified.

I think that 1. Joubert's programs this season are promising, and I agree with LRK that he's consistently underrated on the non-jump aspects of his skating, often by people who apparently last saw him skate in 2005 or so (not referring to you). 2. Amodio is a wonderfully musical skater, but the programs he gets don't showcase that even remotely well. What a waste.

Joubert is basically getting the 'kthxbye' message. Maybe it's a continuation of Gailhaguet's power trip.

I hope that's the message he gives Gailhaguet when the FFSG asks him to skate in the post-Olympic tour. Joubert has better options lined up anyway.

lcd · Dec 15, 2013

snowflake said:
Seems to me that French figure skating is declining, which is sad. Brian and Florent not at all in previous forms. And where are the young guys taking over? Some hopes for ladies though Is James/Cipres the only French pair? I do'nt follow dance closely, but Pechalat/Bourzat has been my favorite pair for ten years now. Suppose this is their last season. I really hope they medal in Sochi.

Shocking to see only 3 Dance teams competing (C/J were at Universiade I realize) but the score for the 3rd team is …?!?

Mattieu · Dec 15, 2013

lcd said:
Shocking to see only 3 Dance teams competing (C/J were at Universiade I realize) but the score for the 3rd team is …?!?

There were 2 withdrawals, which would've had better scores than the 3rd team here, though nowhere near Papadakis/Cizeron.
France will only have 2 viable senior couples post Sochi, Carron/Jones and Papadakis/Cizeron thanks to the Federation's lack of care of up and coming couples

blue_idealist · Dec 15, 2013

Mattieu said:
There were 2 withdrawals, which would've had better scores than the 3rd team here, though nowhere near Papadakis/Cizeron.
France will only have 2 viable senior couples post Sochi, Carron/Jones and Papadakis/Cizeron thanks to the Federation's lack of care of up and coming couples

Yeah, and Carron/Jones might even retire shortly after Sochi (like maybe stick around for two more seasons and then go). Not that I've heard anything about that, but they have been around awhile.

blue_idealist · Dec 15, 2013

Oh and I'm glad Brian was able to at least win the free skate and only finish a point behind overall. Not bad for someone who got such a *cough* late start on his season.

Ziggy · Dec 15, 2013

I know that Carron/Jones have recently beaten Papadakis/Cizeron in front of an international judging panel but it's quite unfair that the latter didn't get an opportunity for a face off here.

Mattieu · Dec 16, 2013

Ziggy said:
I know that Carron/Jones have recently beaten Papadakis/Cizeron in front of an international judging panel but it's quite unfair that the latter didn't get an opportunity for a face off here.

They also had a face off at French Masters, where Carron/Jones beat Papadakis/Cizeron convincingly. So Papadakis/Cizeron have had 2 opportunities to beat Carron/Jones in direct competition, that seems more than a fair judgement of which is the stronger couple, one national and one international competition. So even if Carron/Jones had been present at Nationals, and had been beaten by Papadakis/Cizeron, that would still be 2 out of 3 competitions in Carron/Jones favour.

To be fair to Carron/Jones, they have shown marked progression after a couple of years of stagnation, and have also put out consistent performances all season.

I think medium and long term Papadakis/Cizeron have more potential and are world podium material, particularly him, but at the present moment Carron/Jones are simply the stronger couple. You can't mark "potential", you have to mark what is put out there.

So for my money, despite my love of Papadakis/Cizeron, I'd rather see a consistent, experienced mature couple get Sochi, than a couple who are young, inexperienced and inconsistent, as could be seen in their contra-performance in the Russian GP. A couple just up from juniors will always be an unknown quantity.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT, THE FRENCH FEDERATION AKA DIDIER, WILL SEND WHOEVER THEY WANT TO REGARDLESS OF RESULTS!!

Ziggy · Dec 16, 2013

As much as I love Papadakis/Cizeron who are clearly more promising long-term, I agree with you on all points Mattieu. Carron/Jones are having a very good season and I think their FD is stunning.

LRK · Dec 16, 2013

blue_idealist said:
Oh and I'm glad Brian was able to at least win the free skate and only finish a point behind overall. Not bad for someone who got such a *cough* late start on his season.

And especially considering, too, all the mistakes he had in his NRW Trophy FP... Also, he said he was "not ready" - we know what can happen when he is "not ready" (ahem - Olympics 2010... )

But, anyway, here's his FP:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRXZZ_HC6nQ&feature=youtu.be

(The sound is weird, though... You can barely hear Brian's music, and WTH is going on in the background? You can hear some other, tinny, music going on as well, and what sounds like... an announcer... ? - shakes head - yeah, I don't know... )

Any other videos? (I'm especially curious about James/Cipres.)

deedee1 · Dec 16, 2013

Buttercup said:
I think the FFSG wanted Amodio as the national champion and that message went through loud and clear to the judges. Amodio did have his 4S, but otherwise seems to have been in about same form as he was on the GP, and we know what sort of marks he got there (note that French Nats tend to track international scores more closely than most nationals). We'll see what happens later this season...

Thanks, Buttercup! your reasoning makes sense to me, but still... Brian simply deserves more respect from his own fed for what he has contributed for the sake of French figure skating all these years. Same goes to Nathalie & Fabian.

re Florent. I'm worried about him, too. What happened to his 3As which used to be much much more stable for him? Is he injured or something? Hope he is okay.

I share your hopes re P/B and also hope that Joubert and Amodio will be in better form later this season, especially Joubert.

Me, too!

demarinis5 · Dec 16, 2013

Nice article from IN on the French Nationals!

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2013/12/16/66002426

Congrats to the Medalists! Very happy for Mae, finally she won Gold!

blue_idealist · Dec 16, 2013

Mattieu said:
They also had a face off at French Masters, where Carron/Jones beat Papadakis/Cizeron convincingly. So Papadakis/Cizeron have had 2 opportunities to beat Carron/Jones in direct competition, that seems more than a fair judgement of which is the stronger couple, one national and one international competition. So even if Carron/Jones had been present at Nationals, and had been beaten by Papadakis/Cizeron, that would still be 2 out of 3 competitions in Carron/Jones favour.

To be fair to Carron/Jones, they have shown marked progression after a couple of years of stagnation, and have also put out consistent performances all season.

I think medium and long term Papadakis/Cizeron have more potential and are world podium material, particularly him, but at the present moment Carron/Jones are simply the stronger couple. You can't mark "potential", you have to mark what is put out there.

So for my money, despite my love of Papadakis/Cizeron, I'd rather see a consistent, experienced mature couple get Sochi, than a couple who are young, inexperienced and inconsistent, as could be seen in their contra-performance in the Russian GP. A couple just up from juniors will always be an unknown quantity.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT, THE FRENCH FEDERATION AKA DIDIER, WILL SEND WHOEVER THEY WANT TO REGARDLESS OF RESULTS!!

P/C are being hyped too early, I think. I never thought they would overtake C/J this season. While they have some good moments, their SD at their 2nd? GP (can't remember which one it was off the top of my head) was dreadful. I think it was TEB..

Sochi_2014 · Dec 16, 2013

Brian Joubert doesn't look as good as he once did. Remember the glory days of 2004 with the Matrix? I used to watch this program on repeat! Now he looks likes he's lost confidence in his abilities. At least he's still easy on the eyes though!

LRK · Dec 17, 2013

demarinis5 said:
Nice article from IN on the French Nationals!

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2013/12/16/66002426

Congrats to the Medalists! Very happy for Mae, finally she won Gold!

Thank you! Really thorough article, and a good read.

SimplyLex · Dec 18, 2013

Sochi_2014 said:
Brian Joubert doesn't look as good as he once did. Remember the glory days of 2004 with the Matrix? I used to watch this program on repeat! Now he looks likes he's lost confidence in his abilities. At least he's still easy on the eyes though!

Give the guy a break, he's 29 years old and has a history of injuries. He has been successfully competing internationally for 12 years. His body is tired. OF COURSE he doesn't look as good as he once did.
Still gotta admire his perseverance and consistence. He wasn't that far from medalling at Worlds 2012 and Euros 2013. His programs this year actually do look good.
What I wish for him is a bit harder combinations. He's doing a 3lz-2t. He used to have 4-3 and 3-3s. Looking at how solid and beautiful his lutz has always been, I wonder why he doesn't simply do a 3t after it.

My favourite version of Brian was that Metallica program from his undefeated 2006/2007 season. I still miss seing him like that. But I do realize it's not coming back. Now all I want for him is to do well in Sochi so he can feel he's finally broken that God forsaken Olympic curse.

as for dance, I actually don't get everyone's hope that P/C would beat C/J. What's your deal with C/J people? I think they are a good couple and their programs are great this season. Gabriella Papadakis has so many issues it's painful to watch sometimes.

Sara · Dec 18, 2013

Gotta love the French tv commentators. Fabian made a mistake in his twissels in FD, and the guy says "yeah he made a mistake there". Then the female commentator replies in an irritated way "lorsqu'ils reviennent du Japon!!" meaning that "because they have just arrived from Japan!!" and for that reason forgiving them the mistake... :laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpXL4NSmlA4

Mattieu · Dec 19, 2013

blue_idealist said:
P/C are being hyped too early, I think. I never thought they would overtake C/J this season. While they have some good moments, their SD at their 2nd? GP (can't remember which one it was off the top of my head) was dreadful. I think it was TEB..

It was in the Russian GP

Buttercup · Dec 19, 2013

Sochi_2014 said:
Brian Joubert doesn't look as good as he once did. Remember the glory days of 2004 with the Matrix? I used to watch this program on repeat! Now he looks likes he's lost confidence in his abilities. At least he's still easy on the eyes though!

Then go watch it on repeat if you can't accept, as SimplyLex pointed out, that Joubert is not going to be in the sort of shape he was at a younger age - he is now one of the oldest competitors in the field, in his 13th consecutive senior season, and deals with health issues constantly. To me he looked undertrained, which does not surprise me; he recently said that "my body disagrees now to be on the peak for a whole season". He's also had some problems with his back and also changed his LP just a few weeks ago.

Joubert was in better form than at NRW a week earlier and hopefully he'll be better prepared for the major events.

Sara said:
Gotta love the French tv commentators. Fabian made a mistake in his twissels in FD, and the guy says "yeah he made a mistake there". Then the female commentator replies in an irritated way "lorsqu'ils reviennent du Japon!!" meaning that "because they have just arrived from Japan!!" and for that reason forgiving them the mistake...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpXL4NSmlA4

They were tired and thus probably not as sharp. Fabian is quoted as saying this in the IN summary.

deedee1 · Dec 20, 2013

SimplyLex said:
Give the guy a break, he's 29 years old and has a history of injuries. He has been successfully competing internationally for 12 years. His body is tired. OF COURSE he doesn't look as good as he once did.
Still gotta admire his perseverance and consistence. He wasn't that far from medalling at Worlds 2012 and Euros 2013. His programs this year actually do look good.
What I wish for him is a bit harder combinations. He's doing a 3lz-2t. He used to have 4-3 and 3-3s. Looking at how solid and beautiful his lutz has always been, I wonder why he doesn't simply do a 3t after it.

My favourite version of Brian was that Metallica program from his undefeated 2006/2007 season. I still miss seing him like that. But I do realize it's not coming back. Now all I want for him is to do well in Sochi so he can feel he's finally broken that God forsaken Olympic curse.

:thumbsup: Brian, even at 29yo, can STILL ROCK the CROWD like no one else does! :rock:

French Nationals 2013-2014. Dec. 12 to 15th

LRK

Buttercup

lcd

Match Penalty

Mattieu

blue_idealist

blue_idealist

Ziggy

Mattieu

Ziggy

LRK

deedee1

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!

blue_idealist

Sochi_2014

LRK

SimplyLex

Sara

Mattieu

Buttercup

deedee1

Similar threads

Connect with us