Alexey Erokhov

[Flying Feijoa]

He was brilliant and I sooo much wanted him to win. Too bad he didn't but here wasn't much he could have done better. For example, I'm no expert but I wonder if it would be possible for him to improve his Step Sequence points. As far as I remember, he always gest just Level 2...

I think he (and Vika's other boys, like Andrei Anisimov) often tend to lose levels on steps whenever they have more quads to land in their programmes. They often get higher levels in the SP.

It's pragmatic in a way as step sequences aren't worth much (sadly). Plus, if he focuses on consistently landing this jump content throughout the season his PCS scores should go up too. At least this seems to be what usually happens

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey wouldn't be Alexey without a level 2 step sequence. It's basically his signature move. Jokes aside, I believe they are working on levels and also on artistry, expression, and the second mark. It takes some time, but there is already noticeable progress. According to Skating Scores, yesterday's choreo sequence was his highest scoring choreo sequence ever.

Who would have thought that the classic Turandot would be such a good vehicle for Alexey? I'd really like to know who came up with the music choice and who did the choreography. From the interview linked below, if I understood correctly, he studied the program at the training camp in Sochi. So probably Zhenya Vlasov did it for him?

Other important points from the interview:
- He doesn't think about quitting even in difficult moments, because he really loves figure skating.
- He hopes that everything will be better and more beautiful at the next starts. (Even more beautiful? )
- He plans to compete at the fifth Cup stage in Samara, Nov. 18-19

Alexey's Free Skate:


Interview after the FS:


The podium:

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Interviews with Alexey in Omsk (no guarantees for the translation, but the essence should be fine):

After Free Skate with journalists (video in post above):

I won't hide it, I wanted to win. I am glad that everything worked out, that I made it to the top three.

We have been preparing since the end of summer. In the middle of the summer we were at a training camp in Sochi. At first we started to skate the program without jumps, then we began to add them. I hope that at the next starts the program will be better and more beautiful.

- What keeps you in figure skating?
I haven't thought about quitting. I just love it. Even when it was hard, I always thought that I would recover, get treatment and come back to training.

- When was the last time you got treatment?
Yesterday.

- What prevented you from skating cleaner?
I was too nervous. The Axel is a problematic jump for me. Yesterday I failed, but today I rehabilitated myself.
The final place is important for me, of course. But I'm glad I got myself out from somewhere deep. And the place is rather secondary.

- You are training in an all-male group?
It's interesting for me to train with the guys. We have everything in a competitive mode, but not so as at serious starts. We can have fun, the atmosphere is friendly.

- Was it distracting when girls were skating next to you and doing difficult jumps?
When Sasha Trusova just started doing quadruple jumps, I was not envious, but I thought: "She does it, but why can't I?". It pushed me forward.

- When will you perform again?
With the coaches we have planned to compete at the fifth stage in Samara.

After Free Skate for broadcaster (timestamped youtube link: https://youtu.be/ykWu8k1BVo4?t=54)

I was nervous in the short program, I don't know why, but in the free program it felt like training. I skated from element to element, sequentially. Because often the difficult jumps went well and the easy jumps didn't, we changed the layout [to a more difficult one].

I had a good rest in the summer, also mentally. I went to Elektrostal, a very cozy town in the Moscow region. My grandmother used to live there. And now I sometimes go there to visit old friends. My soul can rest there, so to speak.

Last year in general, the season was bad, but I'm happy to have a good score now already.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

An intense international skating weekend lies ahead, but of course I won't forget about my favourite Alexey in Samara fighting for his spot at Nationals and the Cup Final.
Men's SP starts on Saturday 14:00 local time, FS on Sunday 13:30. As usual I'll post the videos here when I find them.
Smooth ice, clean skates, and only happy faces in the K&C! Also some extra special black kitten luck to Lyosha!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Lyosha skated beautifully in the short in Samara. The choreo slide was one of the best he ever did.
He himself wasn't fully satisfied with his performance as he said in an interview with the RusFed media person:

"In terms of points, it's better than at the previous start, but the impression is worse. Last time one element didn't work out, and the rest were good.
And now I've done everything, but there were a lot of small mistakes. That's why I'm not very happy with today's skate.

There were no nerves at all. I didn't have a good six-minute warm-up, but I'm glad that I was able to put the elements together. We'll try to fix everything tomorrow."

There was also another interview for the broadcaster, but the video player doesn't provide any auto-subtitles, so I'm having a much harder time understanding everything. But at one point I believe the interviewer asked Lyosha how he will prepare for tomorrow's performance and how he feels, and he said "Well, I'm hungry, I'm going to eat now."

Bon appétit and good luck tomorrow in the FS!!!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Here comes the SP video.
I like the new illusion exit from the sit spin. Nice straight lines and clear movement, maybe for the future he could work on the split position a bit.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Oh no , no happy surprise this time when I went to check the FS results.
But even in Lyosha's nightmare skates I always find something beautiful, like the easy 4S or the much improved interpretation especially evident in the step and choreo sequences.

I believe it should still be enough for him to make Nationals. Maybe it's even better mentally to get the disaster skate out of his system before the most important competition? He has all the goods to win the titles in Russia, he can do it!!!

About the Cup Final (top 12 of the series qualify) I don't know and honestly I'm not in the mood to check all the results and do the math. A list will appear somewhere after the last stage, I'm sure. But even if he doesn't make it, there will be other competitions at the end of the season for him. I can't wait to see Turandot skated again, no amount of missed jumps will make me love that program any less!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Two good boys


(from Alexey's insta)

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Lyosha has qualified for the Cup Final (aka Spartakiad this season) after all. He once won a medal at a Spartakiad in 2016, so I have high hopes. Then again, I always have high hopes for Lyosha. He just needs to put everything together in competition and he can win anything.

And since youtube apparently decided not to care about 1tv copyright anymore, here are his performances from the Russian Cup stages this season neatly collected:

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Alexey Erokhov - Cup of Russia 2023 Stage 2 - Free Skating

youtu.be

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- YouTube

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[CrazyKittenLady]

It's a busy week ahead, so in case I don't find time later:
Russian Nationals men's SP is scheduled for Thursday, 21st December, FS on Friday, 22nd. There will be no stream on youtube, but I'll try to upload Alexey's performances.

Good luck, nerves of steel, smooth ice, and clean skates to Alexey!


(from Alexey's insta)

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Oh no, Alexey
The scoreboard after the SP made me fear the worst and then I checked the news, there was a terrible picture, now I'm not even sure if I should watch his skate.
I am devastated for him. He is such a fighter, such a hard worker, he would deserve all the medals and instead now he has to deal with another injury.

What we know so far from his coach Vika Butsaeva:
"They took X-rays - ligament damage, there is no fracture. In Moscow, Alexey will undergo additional diagnostics, then it will be clear how long and what kind of recovery he will need. It is his bad leg, on which he had surgery already a few years ago."

Lyosha, get well soon and please don't give up!!!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Well, I watched the skate, because I've watched every single one of Alexey's skates since 2015. He surprised us with an elegant black shirt and skated with so much fervour. Why did it have to end so badly?

There's nothing left to say except repeating the wishes for a quick and complete recovery. Instead of posting Alexey's SP, I'll go with a photo of teammate Ilya, who gave a shout out to his friend in the K&C. Let's hope everything will be alright again soon.

 

[anonymoose_au]

Poor Alexey, you know it's bad when I skater withdraws, you hardly ever see it!

I do hope by doing so means he can heal better. A shame too since as said he was going very well before the fall.

Best wishes to him.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey's statement on the Federation website:

Fortunately, there is no fracture. Until the end of the championship, I will stay in Chelyabinsk under the supervision of the national team's doctors. In Moscow, I will need to undergo an in-depth medical examination to clarify the diagnosis.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

To all the visitors of this fan fest, may everything in your New Year go as smoothly and beautifully as Alexey's quad Salchow!
And to Alexey, may the New Year bring you victories and medals, but more importantly happiness and health!

There hasn't been any update about the injury since RusNats. Unlike some other skaters sharing their daily ups and downs on social media, Alexey seems to be a rather private person. He's probably got a lot to think about now, together with his family and friends and coaches. I just hope he knows how much his fans would love to see him on the ice for a little bit longer.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Happy New Year to you too @CrazyKittenLady and thank you for always keeping us posted
With the benefit of forewarning, I finally caught up with Nationals. Indeed it was a great skate up till the injury, beautiful shirt (tied with Andrei A. for most elegant men's sparkles this season) and a lovely show of camaraderie from Ilya later.

Sprains can be very variable, but I'm hoping for the best for Alexei I'd happily watch him even if he has to scale back the tech content like Ilya did for a while after his knee injury.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

An update from Alexey's coach about the injury:

Alexey had an MRI scan and a partial ligament tear was diagnosed. Thank God it is nothing serious, but it needs to be treated - it needs time, and we will take as much time as is needed for recovery. In two weeks he will have another scan, and then it will become clear what will happen next.

This sounds cautiously optimistic. The Russian TV commentator once called Lyosha a phoenix, and he was right. Lyosha has already proven once that he can come back stronger, and he can do it again.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Good news, Alexey is back on the ice.

He's skating in one of the outdoor ice shows that is touring around the Moscow regions in winter and even jumping some triples.
Hopefully that means the injury didn't turn out to be as bad as it looked, and maybe he'll still compete in the second half of the season.

ETA: videos (also spotted Ilya Yablokov and Roman Savosin)

Show from January 5th, Ramenskoye

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Show from January 11th, Saransk

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ETA 2: He said he can only jump 3T and 3S at the moment.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Delighted about the small things. The happiest 3S

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey is not on the preliminary entry lists for the Cup Final aka Spartakiad anymore.

I try not to be too sad about it - we got his unexpected appearance at the winter shows at least and he was lovely. It was interesting to watch how differently he's performing when he doesn't have to be so focussed on landing jumps all the time. I believe he could become an engaging show skater if he wanted to go in that direction.
He even did three cartwheels in a row. Needless to say, I am totally enthralled because I love cartwheels and since he showed one in training two summers ago I've been waiting to see it properly in action.
In the latest video from Khimki he also jumped 3F again, so there is definitely progress. I'll just wait and continue to hope that his recovery is going smoothly and that he will return to competition soon.