Alexey Erokhov

[CrazyKittenLady]

At least it was better than at that Challenger, I hope that GP assignment is inevitable next season now, right?

yes he deserves it

Yes, he would deserve it for sure! But realistically, at the moment he neither has a season's best score nor the world standing to be considered for any GP spot next season apart from the Rostelecom host spot. The mistakes at the Warsaw Challenger unfortunately were very costly. But if he continues on his upward trajectory into the next season, he is making a very good case for himself for that Russian host spot.
As for the immediate future, I hope very much that they will give him another international assignment in January. He needs to skate at the international stage to rebuild his reputation and he could still get the tech minimums for Worlds FS (he already has them for the SP) at a Senior B event. With a lights-out skate at the Russian Cup Final, an assignment to post-Olympic Worlds might be within the realms of possibility.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

I came across this post on Sasha Samarin's vk fan page:



They were practising for a series of performances of the New Year's show Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The post said Sasha S. is playing one of the dwarfs, so from the emojis I guess Alexey is then playing a cat?, a deer?, a Flamenco dancer??? This left me mildly intrigued, so I had to investigate further. And, voilà, here are 20 seconds of Alexey the skating deer. Amazing that he can still land a triple in all that snow.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

I came across this post on Sasha Samarin's vk fan page:

View attachment 4832

They were practising for a series of performances of the New Year's show Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The post said Sasha S. is playing one of the dwarfs, so from the emojis I guess Alexey is then playing a cat?, a deer?, a Flamenco dancer??? This left me mildly intrigued, so I had to investigate further. And, voilà, here are 20 seconds of Alexey the skating deer. Amazing that he can still land a triple in all that snow.

Well, Alexei is fleet-footed like a deer so it sort of makes sense... but Sasha, a dwarf?? Now that's some wild casting

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Bless these Russians and their propensity to stream everything figure skating related! I've found the whole Snow White performance on youtube.
Apart from the obvious star Alexey the prancing deer (and member of the corps de ballet glace), I spotted Adelina Sotnikova as Snow White, Anna Pogorilaya as the evil step mother, Sasha Samarin as the green dwarf, Alexei Rogonov as the orange dwarf, and Maxim Kovtun as the blue dwarf. I've probably enjoyed this much more than I should, but seriously, who needs The Nutcracker at the Bolshoi, when we can have Snow White on Ice in some Moscow park? And judging from the close-ups the artists seemed to have a lot of fun themselves, even though it must have been freezing cold.
https://youtu.be/UYh-NXkHyeA?t=1435 (timestamped so the 25 minutes of introductory blah blah are skipped)

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

From an interview with Alexey's coach Viktoria Butsaeva:

Guys are, let's say, a long-running project that only gets better over the years. The main thing here is not to spoil them, to preserve and bring them to the peak of the form. [...] Guys by the age of 17 are just starting to climb to the peak.

In this regard, I judge by Lyosha Erokhov. We are working with him for the second season, and it's only this year - and he's 21 - he's done three different quads in the free skate. Now it's the Russian Cup final, and he says, "Let's go there with four quads." I said to him, "Lyosh, let's perform the program first so that everything is perfect, and then we'll add another one."

So we have four quads planned for next season. He is just beginning to consciously come to the realization that he is ready for such content. And at 16-17-18, there was probably not even a thought about it, because at that time everything was so rough that two quads already gave happiness. Now he understands that even three is not enough for him and he can do more. Sometimes I even have to slow him down a little, because you need to move in stages. And to maintain health, so that there are no injuries or diseases.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Some kind soul on instagram is sharing clips of Lyosha practising.
Here he is casually doing a 4T and looks like he added a jump feature to his sit spin. Let's see it at Russian Cup Final next week!

 

[lariko]

Some kind soul on instagram is sharing clips of Lyosha practising.
Here he is casually doing a 4T and looks like he added a jump feature to his sit spin. Let's see it at Russian Cup Final next week!

Yes, please!

 

[Azikin]

Good luck today!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Good luck Lyosha, clean skates and smooth ice!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey's SP at the Russian Cup Final: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CaXH5X4JVzy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
He got level 4 on all of his spins and the combo save with 4T-3T after a step-out of 4S was epic! So happy for him!
And now I'll go and light a couple of candles that everything goes well tomorrow in the FS.

I just wonder whether this will be the last time we'll ever see this SP? Maybe he'll take it to some local competitions in spring? I've grown fond of Fallin, it was a good program for Lyosha.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Silver!!!

Alexey wrote on his instagram stories: "Thank you very much to my team for the preparation. It was a difficult season in which the coaches helped me to take a big step forward." [Any translation errors are mine...]

Alexey's FS:

ÐлекÑей ÐÑоÑов. ÐÑоизволÑÐ½Ð°Ñ Ð¿ÑогÑамма. ÐÑжÑинÑ. Финал ÐÑбка РоÑÑии по ÑигÑÑÐ½Ð¾Ð¼Ñ ÐºÐ°ÑÐ°Ð½Ð¸Ñ 2021/22

ÐлекÑей ÐÑоÑов, ÑÑавÑий оÑкÑÑÑием ÐÑбка РоÑÑии 2021/22, завоевал ÑеÑебÑÑнÑÑ Ð¼ÐµÐ´Ð°Ð»Ñ Ñинала ÑÑÑниÑа. Ðа иÑполнение пÑоизволÑной пÑогÑÐ°Ð¼Ð¼Ñ Ñ ÑÑÐµÐ¼Ñ Ð·Ð°ÑвленнÑми к...

youtu.be

It wasn't a flawless skate, but he was smiling in the K&C and that really is the only thing that counts. Other posters also tell me that the second place will be enough for him to make it into the national team reserve. Naturally, I'll still worry until the lists are published in early summer.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Something to smile about: Alexey and the mysterious stuffie at Russian Cup Final.
What even is it? It looks a bit like a hippo, but why would someone give him a hippo? His coaches look mildly confused as well but he seems to be delighted with it.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Lyosha just posted 4F in his instagram stories! He is now the owner of four different quads.

 

[lariko]

Lyosha just posted 4F in his instagram stories! He is now the owner of four different quads.

Nice! hope he stays healthy and has a successful next season.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

The quad flip in all its glory:

 

[Azikin]

I finally watched the FS (I had to connect through VPN from Moscow)... it wasn't perfect (though that 4Lo was a thing of beauty) but 2n place is great!

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Things that make me happy during off-season: Alexey jumping his beautiful 4Lo in training.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey was the one redeeming feature of this otherwise cursed season for me. Watching him perform his Greatest Showman program at the first Cup of Russia stage in September was so special. The stunning 4Lo nobody else jumps so beautifully, the way his smile lit up the whole rink once all the jumps were done. He was so happy with his skate, how could I not root for him?
The rest of the season didn't always work out according to plan, but he is a fighter, and I won't stop believing that one day he will skate in an international senior Grand Prix event. Until then, I'm excited to find out what new programs (and new quads?) he will show us after the summer break.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

A sweet compilation of debutant coach Alexey and the Moskvich baby skaters at their club championship a couple of weeks ago:

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Alexey was selected for the National Team reserve!
This means the fed will pay for his programs, skates, and costumes, and (depending on who you ask) he might get a small salary. And if we are lucky, they'll invite him to test skates in late September.
That might be the end of the blue shirt he's worn for the last four seasons though. Will we even recognize him anymore?