Will Canada get back on the Olympic figure skating podium?

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An important series of events on the road to the upcoming Winter Olympics begins Friday as the 2025-26 Grand Prix of Figure Skating series begins in Angers, France.

For those who don't know, the figure skating season is basically made up of two parts. The second part, beginning in January, features the national and world championships. The Grand Prix tour is the backbone of the first part.

Each week from now through late November, a total of six meets will be held in different countries around the world. After this week's Grand Prix of France comes the Cup of China, then Skate Canada International in Saskatoon, followed by stops in Japan, the United States and Finland.

Skaters are allowed to compete in any two of these events, earning points based on how they finish. Once the regular season is complete, the top six in each discipline — men's, women's, pairs and ice dance — are invited to the prestigious Grand Prix Final in early December in Japan. That event should give us a pretty good look at the top medal contenders for the Winter Olympics in northern Italy two months later.

The main goal for Canada's figure skaters this season is to return to the Olympic medal stand after they were completely shut out in 2022 in Beijing. This ended a nine-Games podium streak dating back to Brian Orser's silver in 1984 in Sarajevo and peaking with a national-record four medals in 2018 in South Korea, where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won their second Olympic ice dance gold and helped Canada to the team title.

In Milan this February, Canada's best medal chances are in the partner