At the end of the World Team Trophy, we spoke with Fabrice Blondel, manager of the French team, to review the season and discuss the outlook for the Olympic year.
Skate Info Glace: What is your goal for the team event at the Olympic Games?
Fabrice Blondel: The main goal was to qualify for the team event, which we’ve achieved. We have three qualified categories. Even though the pairs category is not directly qualified, we will be allowed to complete the team with a pair. After that, the goal will be to get through the qualification after the short program, since only five teams will do the free skate. The target for the final ranking is between third and fifth place. Of course, third place is a dream and is achievable. There will be no Russian team, and we are not far behind the Italians. We have three medal opportunities: in the team event, in men’s singles, and in ice dance.
Skate Info Glace: What will the team composition be?
Fabrice Blondel: Strategy will play an important role. We will be able to choose from the skaters competing in the individual events, with the option of making two substitutions between the short program and the free skate. This option will only be possible in two categories, since we will have just one pair and one woman. We could consider a substitution in the men’s singles and in ice dance if we wish. This is a strategy that the Americans used in Beijing with Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donohue.
Skate Info Glace: What’s your assessment of Adam Siao Him Fa’s season?
Fabrice Blondel: Adam had a tough season. It felt like we were running behind the train all year. The World Team Trophy was difficult for everyone: Ilia Malinin doubled two jumps, Yuma Kagiyama fell twice, Shun Sato and Daniel Grassl did fairly well, but overall, they were all tired. This competition comes quite late in the season. Adam showed at the World Championships that he’s still in the mix, even though we knew he wasn’t at 100%. There have always been little physical issues here and there, which made the season complicated. Right now, our goal is really for him to rest, one to two weeks of enforced rest, then an intensive strengthening of the ankle to restart on solid ground. Last year, he struggled to recover from his injury because the key pillars, rest, recovery, sleep, were not fully optimized. We are working on that. We know Adam is capable of great things. He’s had a strong season with his victory at the Grand Prix de France and qualification for the Final, even though he couldn’t participate. He finished fourth at Worlds, close to the podium.
Skate Info Glace: And what about Kévin Aymoz?
Fabrice Blondel: For Kévin, what’s unfortunate at the World Team Trophy is that he hadn’t missed the quad toe loop once in all the practices. Those errors in the free skate changed the entire layout of the program. Despite that, he landed his two Axels, stayed clear-headed, didn’t add a third triple toe loop, and fought all the way to the end. That’s the real progress for Kévin this season. He started serious mental preparation work this year, and that’s the key highlight. He has a mental coach who suits him perfectly. At Skate America, he went without pressure. The U.S. events suit him well. Finland was a bit tougher, but he still finished second and never gave up. It’s true that he struggled a bit at the Grand Prix Final, but he bounced back at the French National Championships. The European Championships remain a bit challenging for him, but he got back on track in Milan with a great competition and followed up with a very good World Championships, where he finished fifth, which is excellent. We are very pleased with his season, even though it had ups and downs. He fights, puts less pressure on himself about objectives, and approaches competitions differently. Clearly, at the Olympics, he can aim for the podium. He has the potential. We saw at Worlds that Adam and Kévin were both close to the podium.
Skate Info Glace: Kévin seems to have found a training routine that suits him, even though training alone for part of the week might seem surprising at first.
Fabrice Blondel: Kévin needs to feel good in his personal life, to have overall balance, in order to perform well. His mental coach works a lot on that, and we’ve seen that this arrangement suits him. Indeed, he spends almost half the week training alone, but if that works for him, it works for us too. He’s 27, he knows what he’s doing. This season, he’s made a lot of progress in physical conditioning, beyond the mental work: he’s repeated his programs more, he’s physically prepared himself better. At the World Championships, he was in good shape, he wasn’t tired. Technically, he has the skills. Now, he’s going to try to work on the quadruple Salchow for next season. He’s landed it recently in practice.
Skate Info Glace: How did you handle the announcement of the partnership between Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron within the French team?
Fabrice Blondel: We communicated as much as possible, with the National Technical Director, as soon as we could, especially with the coaches of Evgeniia and Geoffrey, as well as Théo and Loïcia. This happened right after the European Championships. We assured them that the financial support would remain the same. After that, it’s sport: may the best win. What we focused on most was keeping everyone motivated. Evgeniia and Geoffrey have started making podiums. So yes, they might think there will be less room for them, but other countries manage to put two couples on a podium. Why not us, in France? The Americans have done it. There’s no reason we can’t do it too. As for Théo and Loïcia, their real target isn’t 2026. 2026 is more about gaining experience, and of course, that’s extremely important, but the true goal is 2030.
Skate Info Glace: What do you think of the beginning of Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron’s work together?
Fabrice Blondel: I’ve seen a few videos, and it looks very, very good.
Skate Info Glace: What was your reaction to Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud’s fifth place in the free dance at the World Team Trophy?
Fabrice Blondel: The free dance didn’t yield the result we hoped for, but it’s true there were some small mistakes: a slight issue on the twizzles, another on the one-foot sequence. That’s two lost levels, which can be costly at this level.
Skate Info Glace: There are some suggestions going around that scores might be lowered to make room for Laurence and Guillaume.
Fabrice Blondel: No, I don’t believe that. Does the technical panel at the World Team Trophy think about that? Honestly, I don’t think so. I don’t believe that’s on their minds. And anyway, there’s no need to make room for Guillaume and Laurence. There’s space for everyone. Next year, there’s room for two French couples on the European Championships podium.
Skate Info Glace: What did you think of Lorine Schild’s season?
Fabrice Blondel: Lorine had a slightly tougher Grand Prix de France than the previous year, but she delivered a good Grand Prix in Finland. The European Championships were complicated due to an ankle injury. And when the ankle started to get better, there was another issue with her foot. Despite that, she’s a true competitor. She skated an almost flawless short program at Europeans, even though the free skate was a bit more challenging. Between Europeans and Worlds, Malika Tahir did a lot of work with her, reassessing certain jumps, preparation, and planning rest periods. Lorine was solid at Worlds; she managed the pressure very well with the goal of securing the Olympic quota. We are very satisfied—she has progressed well and is starting to assert herself. Her short program at the World Team Trophy with 63 points was really solid: all the spins and step sequences were level 4, she has the triple-triple with the Lutz. The difference between scoring 63 and 70 points now comes down to components and GOEs, so we’ll keep working on that. She’s also starting to build a reputation: at the World Team Trophy, the Americans came over to congratulate us on her performance, which was really nice. Still, we’ll need to stay cautious—as with everyone—regarding her ankle and foot, which are critical areas.
Skate Info Glace: And Léa Serna?
Fabrice Blondel: Léa also finished her season well, with a very good competition in Milan. But like many of our skaters, she had an ankle issue. She got injured before the Masters, made a comeback, but Skate America was tough. The Grand Prix de France was a bit better, and then she had a decent European Championships. This is her second season training in Oberstdorf, and we know it’s a long-term project. She seems to be thriving in that environment. It’s starting to pay off—I’ve seen some very nice combos. Léa has enormous potential. For us, Léa and Lorine have the same chances of going to the Olympics. Neither is ahead of the other at the moment. Yes, Lorine secured a quota spot and showed she could deliver in these events, but we are resetting the clock. I want that competitive dynamic between them.
Skate Info Glace: For Camille and Pavel Kovalev, the qualification event in Beijing this September will be crucial.
Fabrice Blondel: Beijing in September will indeed be a key milestone. As of now, only three quota spots remain available, and it’s going to be very tough. There will be the Russians, the Chinese, and the Americans aiming for their third quota spot. But it’s possible that a spot could open up if a country gives one up for some reason. So, we’re preparing a real “commando plan” for September. It’s a complex situation because they will need to peak in September, then take a break and restart to be ready for the Olympics, all while staying competitive at the Grand Prix de France and Nationals. It’s a real planning challenge. They’re not alone—they’ll need to qualify and outperform other French pairs. Let’s not forget that two or three years ago, Camille and Pavel were winning Challengers and making podiums. The injury disrupted their momentum. We’ve suggested they get some fresh air, do training camps to reset. Pairs remain the discipline we need to develop. We know that if we want a team event podium, we can’t afford to be tenth in pairs. That said, not all teams in the event will necessarily have a pair, so that leaves an opening.
Skate Info Glace: Looking ahead to the Olympic season, have you planned any calendar adjustments?
Fabrice Blondel: The Masters will be at the end of August. For the past two seasons, we had a sort of monitoring session in early September, which was very effective, especially for ice dance. But we had a lot of feedback saying it was too much: monitoring, Masters, Grand Prix, etc. So, we’ve decided to cancel that monitoring and integrate it directly into the Masters. But we also realized that the Masters were a bit late, especially for ice dance. So, we’ve chosen to combine both: bring the Masters forward and organize a camp around it, similar to what the Americans do. This will also help prepare for the competition in China in mid-September. As for the men, I think we won’t wait for the Masters to announce who will go to China to seek the third quota.
Skate Info Glace: What are the chances for the third skater to secure an Olympic qualification?
Fabrice Blondel: Fairly good. There will be five quota spots available in Beijing, and whether it’s François or Luc, they are both capable of earning that qualification. It would be really valuable for experience. If this qualification allows us to prepare a skater for 2026, let him experience the Olympics, gain that exposure, and then be ready to deliver a strong performance in 2030, that would be ideal.
Solène Mathieu - Skate Info Glace
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