(Mont-Tremblant) Alpine Canada President and CEO Thérèse Brisson gives a “10 out of 10” to the first World Cup held in Mont-Tremblant in 40 years, and she hopes it’s for stay.
Fans surrounded the finish line and filled the village streets this weekend, cheering on the 61 skiers during the two giant slalom events at the Laurentides resort.
More than 15,000 spectators showed up for Saturday and Sunday’s downhills, the Women’s World Cup event with the second-largest crowd after Killington, Vermont, according to Brisson.
“Who wouldn’t be happy about that? Yes, we would like to make Mont-Tremblant a permanent stopover for years to come,” Brisson said on Sunday.
Mont-Tremblant, which hosted its first World Cup competition in alpine skiing in 1983, this year replaced Lake Louise in Alberta as the only women’s stop in Canada on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) calendar.
We have to believe that Mont-Tremblant did not disappoint.
“The athletes are delighted and the coaches are very happy,” Brisson said. What they really appreciate is that the fans understand the competition. They encourage each skier, up to the 61st. It’s unique. »
Alpine Canada has announced that two more giant slalom races are scheduled for next year, December 6-8. Although Mont-Tremblant is also on the FIS long-term calendar for the 2025-26 season, everything will not be confirmed until next year.
Valérie Grenier has already won gold in the World Cup giant slalom and was the best Canadian of the weekend.
She is a native of Eastern Ontario, but considers Mont-Tremblant her home.
“The region has such a large and enthusiastic fan base,” Brisson added. We have a very committed community of volunteers, and for that, it made perfect sense for us to organize a World Cup, here in Quebec, in the East. »
“The atmosphere coming here, coming through Killington with the loudest crowd in the World Cup, and seeing that we could hear the fans from the start again,” said the record holder for Cup wins. of the world, the American Mikaela Shiffrin. The enthusiasm of the people was beautiful to see. »
“The professional ski community in Mont-Tremblant is definitely a strong point in Canada,” added British Columbia native Cassidy Gray. There aren’t many places that can do better. »
The head coach of the Canadian women’s team, Laurent Praz, said that having all these fans present to see the athletes is essential to the development of this sport in the country, and that it therefore makes even more sense to have the event in Mont-Tremblant.
“It was a great giant slalom and a great downhill at Lake Louise, that’s for sure,” he said last week. However, I have the feeling that we feel more of this passion for this sport here, in this region. At Lake Louise, no one came to watch the race at the end. »
