Valérie Grenier (26) had never been on the podium, but in Kranjska Gora she beat all the world stars and won the giant slalom.
– I don’t have the words. I still can’t believe it. It’s a dream come true. I wanted this for so long. I’m so happy, says a visibly moved and touched Grenier in the victory interview.
Since Kathy Kreiner won the Olympic gold medal in the giant slalom in Innsbruck in 1976, no Canadian has climbed to the top step of the podium.
On Saturday, Grenier delivered two fantastic runs and could celebrate as the first Canadian in 46 years. If you count the World Cup, it’s been 48 years since a Canadian won.
The Kranjska Gora race was Grenier’s 90th in the World Cup.
Grenier won 37 hundredths ahead of Marta Bassino. The Slovak Petra Vlhova finished three hundredths behind the Italian.
Mina Fürst Holtmann was the best Norwegian in number ten and achieved her best result of the season. Holtmann had a good first lap and moved into 13th place, 1.15 seconds behind the leader. The 27-year-old hasn’t been in the top ten this season in giant slalom but also managed to follow in the second half. She moved up three places and finished in tenth place.
Thea Louise Stjernesund was in 23rd place after lap one, but took advantage of her early starting number on lap 2 and rode great. She had to sit in the leader’s chair for a long time. She eventually moved up twelve notches and finished in 11th place with the third fastest lap time.
Ragnhild Mowinckel was in 15th place going into the final round, and on the second attempt she lost a lot of time at the top. She continued with a few too many corners on the course, losing even more time. In the end, the Rival driver finished in 16th place.
Maria Therese Tviberg was number 22 in the first round and moved up five places in the second.
Marte Monsen with starting number 35 could not enter the top 30. She finished 48th, 3.32 seconds behind Grenier.
On Sunday there is another giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora.
