Team Papadakis-Cizeron-Haguenauer. Journey to the Top

2014-2015. FIRST SEASON IN MONTREAL: SHOCK AFTER SHOCK AFTER SHOCK AFTER SHOCK

“GABRIELLA AND GUILLAUME WERE SO READY!”

For the two French teenagers and their coach who’d crossed the Atlantic in the summer, to their new training hub of Montreal, the season started in October, in Allandale Recreation Centre in Barrie, at 2014 Skate Canada Autumn Classic, the sixth event of the recently introduced ISU Challenger Series.

Romain says it in all honesty: at the very beginning, he wasn’t thrilled with the plan.

“The first thing they did was a Challenger, Autumn Classic.

And, at first, I said: «No, it’s not a good idea to do a Challenger as a first competition. Plus, it’s very Canadian». There were Gilles/Poirier, Mitch/Islam… not Weaver/Poje, but all the good Canadian teams – and all of those teams have been in front of Gabriella and Guillaume at Worlds. «So maybe we shouldn’t…», like we have no chance left for them.

But in the end, I said: «Ok, [let’s do it]. Anyway, it’s just to practice the programs» – and there, they won!”

And you see the coach raising his eyebrows and smiling, while having a flashback of this completely unpredicted triumph: “Even I didn’t expect they could beat a team like Gilles/Poirier, particularly in Canada!”

With 150.20 points, winning both the short dance and the free dance, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron overscored Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (142.52 points), Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen (representing Denmark back then; 131.62 points), Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam (130.70 points).

“They won, but not easily – and [the truth is] the other ones were not very ready. But Gabriella and Guillaume were so ready that season! Everything went so well [for them], so they were the most ready there! And so it happened [the win] because it was no choice to do it differently.

And I remember, at this competition, Natalia Linichuk was there, but with no students.

And I have known Natalia for a long time – and, at the end, she came to me and said: «Romain, what I saw, I’ve never seen», and she has seen a lot… «I’ve never seen a couple, and a program like they just did. It’s fantastic». She said that, I remember…”

You can easily tell: Romain Haguenauer is very fond of this particular memory.

“CUP OF CHINA WAS A FIRST BIG SHOCK”

“And we continued to work, and I thought it was not good, not enough…”, a demanding coach summarizes the training process heading to Cup in China, in Shanghai, at the beginning of November.

It was not going to be an easy senior Grand Prix debut, by any standards.

“Anna and Luca were World champions, the Shibutanis were there as well, and also Ilinykh with Zhiganshin. Ilinykh, she’s a fantastic skater, but because they were a new team, I said: «Ok, maybe there is a chance [for Gabriella and Guillaume] to be third». This was the idea… And they won!”

The eyebrows again.

“And this was a big shock! It was a first big shock! Even though you see: Ok, for me they are better, you know that it takes time to happen. So even for me it was really a shock that it happened!

And it all started there, in Shanghai – and afterwards it was: «Do more, do more!»”

For Gabriella and Guillaume’s coach, this particular win, that fact that it happened, acted as a true revelation:

“[Cup of] China made me realize that they can do it! And they can do it now! Being the first, win the World Championships! And afterwards we really worked in the way of polishing the details, of pushing them more, and more, and more”.

But first let us remind you what happened in Shanghai, at 2014 Cup of China: 3rd after their Paso Doble-Flamenco short dance, Gabriella and Guillaume would take everyone’s breath away, flying, floating, caressing the air, caressing themselves during their (now trademark) free dance to music by Mozart, Adagio from Concerto no. 23.

In doing that, they would outskate Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani (silver), the World-champions en-titre Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (bronze) – and win, in everyone’s complete amazement, the first Grand Prix event of their still very young career.

And, let us tell you, they were equally amazed.

►►► Guillaume Cizeron: “I think the first win in Shanghai was a really big surprise for us. That was the most surprising event, and then the second Grand Prix, and the Final, and the Europeans – and it started to grow on us this feeling that we’re capable of doing it, of actually getting a gold medal at Worlds”.

►►► Gabriella Papadakis: “I remember I was sooo happy after the short dance [at Cup of China]. We were third and I was like: Oh, My God! It’s probably not gonna stay like that, but I’m just gonna enjoy being third after the short dance! And then we were first after the free dance, and I was like: Whaat!? It was so much to handle, it was so fast, and we didn’t expect it! Yeah, I really remember these moments! Seeing the scores, and being on the podium – I was like a child at Disneyland! Just amazed at everything”.

A golden debut that was.

One that was really talked about at the time: that inconceivable, that improbable.

But not at all a fluke, since the gold in Shanghai was followed by another win, in Paris, at Trophée Éric Bompard, where they finished ahead of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (silver) and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (bronze).

By now, the French ice dance team had become the talk of the skating world.

“WHY BE SCARED TO WIN, WHEN YOU HAVE THE POSSIBILITY?”

In Barcelona, in December, at the first senior Grand Prix Final of their career, Gabriella and Guillaume would place 5th in the short dance, 3rd in the free dance – and win the bronze medal overall behind Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje (gold) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (silver).

As for Romain, he was more than confident in the potential of his skaters to take the ice dancing world by storm. That particular season, not later.

“The Grand Prix Final was fine, I was happy with that… But I remember, I watched the best teams together, and I thought: They’re better – for me they’re better.

And I remember someone told me [at the GPF]: «I hope they are going to skate clean, because they have a chance for bronze». And I said: «No, what I see-là, it’s the gold-là! They can have the gold!». And he told me: «No, this is ice dance – and it’s not good when it happens too fast». And I said: «No! If it has to happen, it has to happen! Why be scared to win, when you have the possibility?»

Gabriella and Guillaume took the bronze, and I was happy with that – but I could see that people were already talking, some judges started to make it close… And after, it was the Europeans – and, at the Europeans, the goal was the gold”.

But not just that.

You should know that by now: there’s usually a lot going on in Romain Haguenauer’s mind. He had a plan for Europeans too.

EUROPEANS IN STOCKHOLM: A STATEMENT

There was one thing though: when it came to the future outcome of 2015 Europeans, the coach “wasn’t certain about Anna and Luca, because they withdrew from the rest of competitions after Cup of China. So I knew they would come back readier than they were [at the Grand Prix in Shanghai]”.

Romain knew very well Anna and Luca – he coached them too, in Lyon, in 2009-2010.

But then Romain Haguenauer’s goal for Gabriella and Guillaume was “to win at Europeans, of course, but to make it with a big score. The highest possible – a higher score than the others, at Four Continents, a week after”.

You guessed it: a statement of power, for the forthcoming Worlds.

“And it is what actually happened: they got better scores at Europeans”.

179.97 points for Gabriella and Guillaume in Stockholm versus Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje’s 177.46 points at Four Continents in Seoul.

The battle for the World gold was now ON.

INSIDE A COACH’S MIND: THE DISAPPOINTMENT, THEN THE THRILL

At the end of March, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron would return to Shanghai, the place of their initial triumph, for the World Championships, accompanied by Marie-France Dubreuil and Romain Haguenauer.

But the campaign to win the World crown didn’t start well – Romain remembers the disappointment, his own disappointment, after the short dance.

“They did a small mistake and they were 4th after the short program. And là… it was difficult for me.

Not for them, because Gabriella and Guillaume are always in their bubble, but, inside, I was really disappointed after the short”.

And Romain’s tone of voice is really telling. “I didn’t show it, but I came back in my room and I said: My God, it’s finished. They lost the opportunity. You know, when you are 4th…

But two hours later, you come back and you practice, and you never know…

And they won”.

The coach is laughing: “At first, they didn’t even realize they became World champions”.

►►►Gabriella: “At first I didn’t really understand. I saw the scores and I didn’t know that we were first, and I didn’t realized it, actually. But Marie and Romain were in the Kiss and Cry with us, and they really realized, so they were really, really happy, and it took us like a few long seconds to just… What’s happening here?! I guess we’re happy?! I don’t knoooow! What’s happening here?! It’s good, yeah!”

They had done it: mesmerized everyone watching, in the arena, in front of a TV or a computer screen.

But not just that: they started a whirlwind.

One that the coach is able to recreate in every tiny bit of detail.

THE HOURS FOLLOWING THE WIN IN SHANGHAI

“Literally after an hour, when they became World champions in Shanghai… or even, let’s say, 5 minutes after the podium, people around them, and even some other people were like: «My Goood, it’s too eaarly!», «They are going to faall!», «It’s too soooon, it’s impossible…», «It’s impossible to have a better program than thaaat…»”.

Romain prolongs almost every word, recreating the chorus of concerned, unresting, haywire, discording voices surrounding the newly crowned World champions.

A mixture of shock, bewilderment, unease – in front of something that was never seen or heard of in ice dance before: a skyrocketing ascent through the rankings, to the very top of it.

“So, yes, they were World champions – but what we had to deal was the people around them. Because afterwards, people started saying: «They are going to completely fall down, because only the program was good… They became World champions because of the program, not because of them». It’s what I’ve heard-là… And I can understand, you know? Because it was such a shock: a very good program, good material, and they did well. But people need proof, it’s normal.

It’s like you win Roland Garros in tennis, «Ok, fantastique, but now let’s win Wimbledon! I will see if you are great in tennis!». It works like that”.

Resting on the back of his chair, Romain relives the turmoil after the event. It didn’t affect him, he says. “I was fine. And I knew this was just the beginning”.

The coach knew Gabriella and Guillaume could go even further than that. His responsibility was to guide them. And he was ready for it.

“It’s always a little bit scary to find new ideas, new programs, a new direction for everyone – and for the best skaters you have to, because, of course, it’s very important – but I knew-là they had a lot more to give. And if you look today at Mozart, it’s… I won’t say it’s horrible [smiling, with his ever present French accent], it’s a fantastic program!, but the quality of them, the way they skated is very junior compared to today.

No, I knew they could improve a lot”.

“THE SPORT WAS FACING TWO EXCEPTIONAL ICE DANCERS”

The skaters, the coaches, the parents, the fans, insiders and outsiders, everyone knew it – and lived with it: ice dance had been for decades the immovable discipline of figure skating. You almost needed someone to competitively die – our choice of a metaphor for retiring from sports – to be finally able to climb the rankings, one spot at the time.

Which made Gabriella and Guillaume’s meteoric rise in just one season even more astonishing.

And, at the same time, truly and utterly encouraging – because it instilled hope in every other team out there: if they can do it, if it’s possible, maybe it will be possible for others as well.

It looked like a fundamental change in ice dance – one that was needed, hoped for.

But was it? A change?

Romain Haguenauer’s take on the matter has varied throughout the years – but he has now come to a more definitive answer.

“I don’t really think it’s a change, it’s just because they are fantastique! Fantastique champions.

It happened the same with Tessa and Scott, and also with Meryl and Charlie: when they won, they were very young too. And people said then: «Ice dancing is changing, now you can be 19-20, and you can be Olympic champions, so it’s changing…»

No, it doesn’t change!

Like with Tessa and Scott, with Gabriella and Guillaume the sport was facing two exceptional ice dancers! And they were mature and good enough at a very young age to be able to beat everyone.

So I don’t think it’s a change in the discipline. Yes, it’s good for the discipline, because it shows that is possible, but I don’t think it’s going to happen every time”.

Experienced Romain adds more layers to his hypothesis:

“Don’t forget I was the coach of Delobel/Schoenfelder when they became World champions [in Gothenburg, in 2008] and Tessa and Scott were second [there] and they were just new juniors… They did Worlds once before, but it [the progress] was quite fast [for them as well], and people were saying: «The sport changes», and we said: «Yes, maybe it’s the new system, because now you have to do twizzles and lifts, so you have to be young to do them well». This was the discussion back then. But it’s not that.

It’s just the talent of something special. This is what I think. We’ll see in the future [if that will happen again]”.

Eyes on the past, as an additional (and very visual) proof, Romain highlights Gabriella and Guillaume’s last junior season: “The quality, the look, how they skated in juniors, even today-là, it was great – they were impressive.

And, I remember, when I went to Sochi, for the Junior Grand Prix Final, in 2012, all the senior teams, Tessa and Scott, Meryl and Charlie, Anna and Luca, Nathalie and Fabien, all came to watch the juniors.

And Anna Cappellini told me – she had watched the event, Gaby and Guillaume came second, nobody knew them back then – and she told me: “I hope we’ll finish our career before they turn senior”. You know? Because they impressed everyone! Already!”