(Mont-Tremblant) A royal podium, a massive and noisy crowd and the approval of the greatest skier in history: the Tremblant Alpine Ski World Cup did not miss its first impression on Saturday.
The only discordant note: the disappointment of the local star, Valérie Grenier, eighth in this inaugural giant slalom, where the competitors had to negotiate with a little snow in the first run and fog at the top of the Flying Mile slope.
“Everyone is talking to me about it, the crowd is sick, we can hear you all the way up there,” Grenier told the crowd that filled Place Saint-Bernard at the end of the afternoon. According to organizers, more than 10,000 spectators attended the competitions.
That a Canadian skier almost apologizes for an eighth place is indicative of the status acquired over the past year by Valérie Grenier. Seventh in the standings, she could legitimately aim for the podium for her first World Cup start in front of her extended family, including her grandfather Marcel Bourdon, 84, with whom she learned to ski in the premier resort of the Laurentians.
At the restart, in the afternoon, Grenier did not succeed in executing her plan as she wanted, surprised by the fourth turn, which annoyed several participants, and unbalanced by one of the rollers in the flat middle section. . After arriving, she nodded to express her dissatisfaction, before sending contrite greetings. She was then provisionally third.
“The result is not bad, it’s correct, but I’m still disappointed,” she admitted to journalists. On the second descent, I was hoping to get to the bottom first and maybe try to go up a little. It didn’t happen like that. The course was still difficult from the start. There wasn’t much rhythm in the section where it was spinning a little more. I had trouble skiing the way I wanted. »
Valérie Grenier nevertheless realized “a dream” by evolving on “her” mountain in the company of the best on the planet, saluting the performance of her young teammates Britt Richardson and Cassidy Gray, respectively 15th and 24th, two personal peaks. “They did really well. It’s fun to see and I’m very proud of them. »
Seventh in Sölden and fifth in Killington, the winner of a first World Cup last winter is very eager to have two flawless runs. “That’s a bit of what’s happening so far,” said the woman who maintains her seventh place overall. It’s flat, but at the same time, I know that in the sections where I don’t make mistakes, I’m able to ski fast. I just wish I would stop making a lot of mistakes like I did today. »
In total for the two rounds, longer than ex-world champion Erik Guay had expected, Grenier was 1.85 seconds behind the winner, the Italian Brignone. Imperial in the first descent, where she gained a cushion of 0.11 seconds over Olympic champion Sara Hector (4th in the end), the Snow Tigress roared louder in the second run to increase her lead and thus sign the 22nd victory of his career on the circuit.
“It’s beautiful because I had never won or made a podium in Canada,” she marveled in her Val d’Aosta French. “It’s a new track, a new place, there are a lot of people. There was Mitch commenting to the announcer. It was weird, but beautiful. There was a lot of emotion. »
The “Mitch” in question is Marie-Michèle Gagnon, a recently retired Quebec skier who acted as an analyst for the event. Mistress of ceremonies at the awards ceremony, she injected a little madness into the rather staid world of the White Circus. Gagnon surprised her friend Brignone on the podium by asking her to honor a challenge taken the day before: to perform a dance step with a Canadian “twist” if she won.
“Now here? “, panicked the 33-year-old Italian, showing her ski boots. The Olympic vice-champion finally performed a few steps that could be compared to a Canadian Night jig, to the great pleasure of the crowd.
More circumspect, the great Petra Vhlová, second, did not hide her disappointment at losing first place by 22 hundredths of a second. “The last giant slalom didn’t go well [10th in Killington], so I’m happy, but I still want to be at the top,” explained the 28-year-old Slovak, world champion in 2019. “The podium is It’s good, but I wanted a victory today. »
The Vail athlete clenched her fist after seeing that she was temporarily in the lead, letting out her joy by pumping her arms after she spotted the time of her second run on the board.
“I’m always a little surprised because I always feel like I’m going to be a little slower,” she explained. I was excited to take the lead, of course, but I kind of looked back and saw that my second run time was the fastest at that point. That was the most exciting thing because my second runs haven’t been the most competitive in recent races. »
Shiffrin indirectly praised the work of the organizers, who worked hard to give relief to the middle section with snow cannons and machinery maneuvers.
“There was some pretty interesting terrain up there. It’s not the most difficult trail at first glance, but with the added terrain it ranks as perhaps one of the most demanding. There are so many things to remember. Almost every turn has a roll and some of them are quite sharp. So you have to be very offensive and clean, but also very tactically aware. »
Like Brignone and Vhlová, Shiffrin praised the Quebec and Canadian crowds, which compared to those in Killington, Vermont, whom she called “the loudest on the circuit.” “You could hear it from the starting gate. The enthusiasm is truly wonderful. »
Marie-Michèle Gagnon even managed to extract from the American the only words in French she knew: “Where is the toilet? » The anti-doping chaperone, who had been following her step by step since the end of the event, was surely able to tell her… Shiffrin concluded the interviews by accepting a large chocolate glazed donut offered to her by two podcast hosts.
After this promising first, the Tremblant World Cup will continue on Sunday with the presentation of a second giant slalom. The first round is scheduled for 11 a.m. and the second is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.
After breaking the ice, Valérie Grenier intends to get back on track. “That’s how I feel since the race is over: now I know the crowd and I know how it’s going to go. So I can relax a little more and approach it like a normal day. »
As normal as a first Alpine Ski World Cup in Mont-Tremblant in 40 years can be.
