Trusova's new style, the return of Kolyada and the debut of Valieva: what to expect from the test skates in Moscow

Debut of Plushenko's students

The main expectations from the test skates of the Russian national team are associated with the new students of Evgeni Plushenko - Alexandra Trusova who went with him all the offseason and Alyona Kostornaya, who recently joined their team.

The departure of two leading athletes from Eteri Tutberidze became the most high-profile event of the summer in figure skating.

Taking into account how the participants of all five stages of the Russian Cup were distributed, for Trusova and Kostornaya this will be the only meeting on the same ice with her former classmate Anna Shcherbakova before the national championship.

Now very many figure skating fans are interested in the condition of Tutberidze's former students.

In the summer, Plushenko's team often received positive signals about Trusova's progress.

According to the Olympic champion, she performs all the old quadruple jumps and learned the rittberger.

Also in her arsenal there is a triple axel, which the athlete has not yet performed purely in public.

Plushenko noted that Trusova's new programs, one of which is set to music from Romeo and Juliet, will be more difficult choreographically.

If this is the case, then a skater with a radically new style will have to appear at the test skates, who, if successful, will have no weaknesses.

Much less is known about what Kostornaya managed to achieve.

In addition to the fact that she trains at different times with Trusova and received new programs to replace those put by Daniil Gleichengauz, there was no other information about the European champion.

Unlike Trusova, Kostornaya left Tutberidze in excellent shape and with the unofficial status of the world's strongest figure skater.

The fans could only guess in which direction it will develop further and whether it will remain competitive in the fight against figure skaters who own quadruple jumps.

Return of Kolyada and strengthening of Tuktamysheva

For Russian figure skating, the return of Mikhail Kolyada will be an important event at the test skates.

The bronze medalist of the World Cup, once the main single skater of the national team, missed last season due to illness and fell out of sight of the fans for a long time.

But now he is training under the guidance of Alexei Mishin and is ready to return to the previous level.

Strictly speaking, the return of Kolyada has already taken place at the open skates for figure skaters in St. Petersburg, which took place at the end of August.

Then he demonstrated a quadruple toe loop in a short program (in a cascade with a double), but could not repeat it in a free skate directed by Ilya Averbukh.

However, while Kolyada may not set himself the task of immediately making a breakthrough in technical terms, it is more important for him to perform stably now.

In the absence of Dmitry Aliyev and Artur Danielyan, who will miss the event in Moscow due to injuries, Kolyada will be able to perform without unnecessary pressure.

Also, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who trains under the guidance of Mishin, is learning the quadruple salchow, and the spectators at the test skates may be the first to see this element in her performance.

Previously, Tuktamysheva tried to perform a quadruple sheepskin coat at competitions, but she did not succeed.

A lower cost salchow will also be an excellent argument for a skater in a dispute with younger rivals.

But on condition that Tuktamysheva also retained the triple axel.

Closeness of the season

Those skaters who have to start the official part of the season before everyone else deserve special mention.

The first stage of the Russian Cup in Syzran will be held from 18 to 22 September, that is, in a week.

Anna Shcherbakova, Evgenia Medvedeva and Ksenia Sinitsyna will take part in the test skates.

Shcherbakova is the only top figure skater whose future programs are unknown.

New images, in which the two-time champion of Russia will appear, will be one of the main intrigues of the box office.

As well as whether she kept her quadruple jumps and the ease with which she performed them.

At the same time, during quarantine, she said that she wanted to master the triple axel in order to have a margin of safety in the short program, as well as to add in rotations and sliding.

Medvedeva is at a disadvantage compared to other athletes.

She did not have the opportunity to train under the leadership of Brian Orser, and the example of Sema Uno shows how the absence of a coach can negatively affect.

However, the two-time world champion should not be written off yet.

Firstly, she began to prepare her programs immediately after the failure at the Russian Championship and should know them perfectly well without prompting from the side.

Secondly, Medvedeva remains in touch with Orser, and Elena Buyanova is engaged in her in Moscow.

Thirdly, just before the skates, a video from the training appeared, in which the athlete confidently performs the triple rittberger, triple flip and double axel.

From last year's members of the national team, Alexander Samarin will fly to the Samara region.

He will try to rehabilitate himself for the unsuccessful last season, which was crowned only tenth in the European Championship.

According to the coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya, the ward restored all quadruple jumps back in July and decided on the music for the free program.

The sports pair of Evgeny Tarasov - Vladimir Morozov will have to start the season immediately after the rental.

Unlike Medvedeva, they managed to train abroad under the guidance of Marina Zueva and then come to Russia by the beginning of the new season.

Their main goal should be the flawless performance of the skates, which the couple could not achieve in the first year of working with a new mentor.

Adult premiere of Valieva

The test skates will be interesting with the participation of one athlete who cannot get into the national team under any circumstances.

The world champion among juniors Kamila Valieva received the exclusive right to go on the same ice with adults, which became the reason for discussions and controversies in the world of figure skating in the offseason.

Although the skates do not have an official status, they can have a huge impact on Valieva's career.

She will be able to understand how she will be judged at an adult level and accepted by the fans.

Finally, Valieva will have to strengthen psychologically and make up for the lack of competitive practice that other juniors will face in the starting season.

At the same time, Valieva will have a chance to even outshine the more experienced skaters, because in technique, plasticity and choreography, she surpasses most adult singles.

In the free program, she can show a quadruple toe loop, which is already a good help for her.

If over the summer Valieva was able to complicate the program even more, then she will be able to show this at test skates.