Canada's Grenier Wins First World Cup Race

Canada's Valérie Grenier is all smiles after winning her first World Cup race in Kranjska Gora on Saturday  With all eyes on Mikaela Shiffrin seeking a record-tying 82nd World Cup victory, Canada's Valérie Grenier made history of her own by winning her first.

Grenier delivered two impeccable runs in Kranjska Gora on Saturday to become the first Canadian winner of a women's World Cup giant slalom race in nearly 50 years, since Kathy Kreiner won in Pronften, Germany, on 6 January 1974.

"I have no words, I still can't believe it," said the 26-year-old Grenier, who was close to tears in the finish area. "It's a dream come true, I've been wanting it for so long and I'm just going to cry because I'm so happy."

“It feels amazing! I’ve wanted this day for so long, it’s a dream come true,” said a beaming Grenier. “I’m proud that I was able to keep it together for the second run and to find a way to win after winning the first run. I thought that there would be a lot of pressure, but I felt really calm and confident. I’m so happy to have our team here. It was so fun to see them at the finish and to celebrate with them.

“I am so proud of Val,” said Karin Harjo, Head Coach of Canada’s Women Alpine Ski Team. “It’s an incredible accomplishment that is so well earned for all the hard work that she has put in through her career. For the team this shows the strong dynamic we have, the girls push each other, and they really support each other. Together we work hard, we play hard, we have joy and good things are happening.”

It was not only Grenier's first World Cup win but also her first podium, one she shared with runner-up Marta Bassino of Italy (+0.37s) and third-placed Petra Vlhova of Slovakia (+0.40s). Shiffrin, hoping to equal compatriot Lindsey Vonn's women's record of 82 World Cup victories by winning her sixth consecutive race, finished equal sixth, ceding the headlines to Grenier.

The Canadian's triumph came just two races after she was disqualified in the first of the giant slalom races in Semmering in late December for leaving the start gate too early.

"I think it almost put some fire inside of me to get my revenge, but it's revenge on myself because I messed up that day," Grenier said.

Skiing with bib 12 in the first run, Grenier surprised provisional leader Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland and the other top-seeded starters who had already made their challenge by moving into first place by 0.04 seconds. That left her as the last to ski in the second run with everything on the line.

"I was a bit nervous that I would think about it too much," Grenier said. "But I felt so good before the second run, I felt so relaxed and just excited to go."

Leaving the start gate with a 0.24-second lead over leader Bassino, Grenier lost her advantage by the halfway point but a superb lower section saw her make up over half a second on the third intermediate split to switch the light back to green and claim victory.

"Everything was normal as if it was just a normal second run and it worked out," she said of her calm demeanour on the slope despite the high stakes, considering her previous best World Cup finish was fourth.

Bassino moved up from fourth after the first run to second and made her seventh consecutive giant slalom podium dating back to last season, extending her lead in the race for the discipline crystal globe to 80 points over Shiffrin.

"I really like this race and this slope," said the Italian, who has four podiums and two victories in her last four races in the Slovenian resort. "Today was really fun to ski because the snow was perfect."

Vlhova put down a scintillating second run to move up from sixth to third and record her seventh podium of the season in front of her usual contingent of boisterous fans waving Slovakian flags.

"They are amazing and I heard them on the last pitch so they pushed me a lot and I'm happy to be again on the podium," Vlhova said.

Federica Brignone of Italy finished fourth, missing the podium by 0.13 seconds, while Gut-Behrami slipped from second to fifth after appearing to run out of steam on the lower section of the second run.