Those who have followed the French Grand Prix over the past decade have experienced their fair share of trauma, and last year’s men’s event at Grand Prix de France was one that we would rather not remember (but we do). It’s no surprise by now that the men’s event can go in one of a thousand directions, and it’s no different this week. We have 12 skaters who, on their best day, could all end up somewhere in the top five because we know there will likely be a lot of movement from start to finish.
2025 Grand Prix de France predictions
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GOLD Ilia Malinin USA - The heavy favorite coming in, Malinin comes off a solid win at Lombardia Trophy to start his season. Being the two-time and reigning World champion, he has had the expectations of continuing his win streak, and that’s no small feat in an Olympic season, where the stakes have never been higher. He doesn’t need full difficulty to win here, but he still needs to avoid major errors. Incidentally, the last time he lost in international competition was here two years ago, when Siao won the title.
SILVER Nika Egadze GEO - The momentum is there for Egadze, who is in his third consecutive week of competition after taking silver at Denis Ten Memorial and then winning last wek at Trialeti Trophy at home. Now, three competitions in a row could work for some skaters and not others, and it remains to be seen whether he is well-conditioned enough to endure this kind of a gauntlet.
BRONZE Adam Siao Him Fa FRA - It’s no secret that the start of this season for Siao has been rocky. He has yet to really find his form—the jumps have been inconsistent, and he’s just looked a bit at a loss in the three competitions he’s skated in so far. But what we do know is that the improvements have been visible with each event, and he carries a clean short and a win from Trophee Metropole Nice into this event here. He will be looking for his fourth consecutive win at his home Grand Prix.
4. Andrew Torgashev USA - It’s been rare for us to see the US silver medalist get out to a strong start for the season, whether it be general inconsistency or nagging injuries. But perhaps, just perhaps, this is the season where Torgashev builds his momentum from the beginning instead of having to make a run for it at the end. He took silver at Nebelhorn Trophy three weeks ago, and will be in contention for the podium again here after taking bronze last year.
5. Lukas Britschgi SUI - Bronze right behind Torgashev at Nebelhorn, Britschgi is trying to find that form that he had two years ago on the Grand Prix where he made his breakthrough. He had a slower start to his season last year and was ninth at this event, so he will be looking for a stronger start to his Grand Prix this time around.
6. Kao Miura JPN - What’s going to happen with Miura here? Nobody knows. It’s always a roll of the dice with the most Kao-tic of them all, and early this season has been no different. He’s been skating with a bit of an injury and trying to figure out how to regain the consistency that took him to two consecutive Grand Prix Finals early in this Olympic quad.
7. Luc Economides FRA - Even though the third Olympic spot for the French men is a bit out of reach now, there is still the question of who takes the third Worlds spot for the French men, which is guaranteed. And this third spot is seemingly a battle between Economides and Pitot, who are very evenly matched in their skating. Pitot won the matchup at French Masters but Economides made some big strides just a couple weeks later with an eighth-place finish at Lombardia.
8. Maxim Naumov USA - A sentimental favorite wherever he goes this season, Naumov is skating not just for an Olympic berth but also in the memory of his late parents. Like Torgashev, he’s not known to be a strong early-season skater, but his performances at Lombardia last month looked promising.
9. Francois Pitot FRA - Pitot is recovering from the disappointment of finishing outside of the automatic country berths at the Olympic Qualifying Event in September. It was particularly stinging because he was in strong position after the short program, and couldn’t hold it together enough early in his free skate. This will be redemption time for him this week.
10. Mihhail Selevko EST - The younger Selevko brother will be looking to improve on his consistency here, especially with the sole Estonian Olympic spot on the line. He was fourth at Nepela Memorial in late September.
11. Tatsuya Tsuboi JPN - After making it to Worlds last season as the Japanese bronze medalist, Tsuboi has had an inconsistent start to his season. He was fifth at Kinoshita Group Cup and eighth at Nebelhorn Trophy in September.
12. Gabriele Frangipani ITA - It’s always been tough to figure out which Frangipani is going to show up at any particular event. His inconsistency has been event this season already, with a 30-point swing in scores between two competitions that took place two weeks apart.