Tremblant brings ‘fresh vibe’ with women’s best ready to race in Grenier’s hometown

It has been a long wait, but on Saturday Valerie Grenier (CAN) will race against the greatest female skiers on the planet down the mountain she grew up on. And the Canadian giant slalom Audi FIS World Cup winner can hardly believe it.

“It means everything to me, it feels like a dream come true that I never thought possible,” Grenier told CBC ahead of the first of two GS double headers, starting at 11:00 local/17:00 CET on Saturday 2 December.

“Leading up to this race it’s been very exciting to know we were coming here soon. I was extremely looking forward to it and now to be here in person, to see all the work that has been put in, it’s impressive.”

Grenier was not born the last, and only time Tremblant hosted a World Cup race, back in 1983. But the Canadian resort has poured a huge amount in to making this weekend one to remember.

And it has got the thumbs-up from the most successful World Cup skier of all time.

“The hill looks really fun to ski,” Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) said on Friday. “It’s really exciting to come to a new place. Everybody is really excited to be here and it gives a little bit of a fresh vibe into the World Cup circuit.”

Fans have been gathering all week and organisers are expecting a big turnout for an event that has been worked on for more than 18 months.

“It was a priority for Alpine Canada to give women’s sport the spotlight it deserves and to bring a World Cup to these region where we have such a large and enthusiastic fanbase,” Therese Brisson, president and CEO of Alpine Canada, said

“We are absolutely thrilled and excited by the way this event has energised and unified the ski community and we look forward to creating unforgettable moments together for all Canadians but especially for young girls and women.”

Battle royale for fans

There is no doubt those who are on the mountain are in for a real treat. The world’s form Alpine skier, Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) will be looking to make it four wins out of four starts, after triumphing last weekend in Killington (USA) and in the season-opener in Sölden (AUT).

However, there are a heap of big name skiers lining up to stop the Swiss star continuing her red-hot start. Petra Vlhova (SVK) has been almost as good as Gut-Behrami, claiming a win and two podiums across GS and slalom.

Meanwhile, veteran star Federica Brignone (ITA) and the still youthful Alice Robinson (NZL) have both shown that they are forces to be reckoned with on GS skis, both having grabbed a second-place finish already.

But it may well be Shiffrin’s face that Gut-Behrami is seeing most clearly when she looks over her shoulder. On 26 November, on her home slope of Killington, the USA superstar claimed an extraordinary 90th World Cup win. While that came in the slalom, a third and a sixth in GS suggest that she is not too far away from her best in the second of the technical disciplines.

Not that the history-maker wanted to talk about herself on the eve of action in Tremblant.

“Any time you see somebody on the World Cup with insanely good skiing and such a strong mentality like Val (Grenier) has, to see the success coming more and more consistency, knowing what the potential is as well, for me, it’s kind of heart-warming,” she said of her rival who claimed her first World Cup GS win in some style in Kransjka Gora (SLO) last season.

“I am a big fan of amazing skiing.”