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Valerie Grenier was unable to repeat Saturday's feats at the second stage of the Alpine Ski World Cup in Mont-Tremblant.
Julia Scheib of Austria took victory in Sunday's giant slalom, while Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., went off course with three gates to go in her first run since winning bronze in Saturday's giant slalom.
“I came down knowing the course kept turning a little bit,” Grenier said at the finish. “Unfortunately, I did something that I do often, a small shot after goal that almost made me do a 180. That’s exactly what happened today. That's something I need to keep working on.”
That little mistake coming out of the corner ended what should have been a promising run. The 29-year-old, who learned to ski in Mont-Tremblant, trailed leaders Alice Robinson of New Zealand and Scheib.
Julia Scheib's winning time of 2:13.00 was enough to win Sunday's World Cup giant slalom race in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.
“I wasn't sure. I had some strange feelings. There were some sections where I felt like everything was going well, others where I made small mistakes, but nothing major. They told me it was a good run. It's a shame,” Grenier said. “It's even more frustrating, but it shows that I skied well, maybe even better than yesterday, so that's encouraging for the rest of the season.”
Scheib finished with a two-run time of two minutes, 13 seconds to claim her third giant slalom medal of the season.
She also won gold at home in Soelden on Oct. 25 and took silver last week in Copper Mountain, Colo., but did not finish her first heat at Mont-Tremblant on Saturday.
“I’m very happy now,” said the 27-year-old. “It wasn’t so easy after yesterday, but I’m very happy with the second run.”
Sweden's Sarah Hector was second in 2:13.57, followed by New Zealand's Alice Robinson, who won Saturday's giant slalom, in 2:13.78.
In the final moments before the World Cup was stopped, Scheib scored a stunning second try, leaving Robinson scrambling to keep up. But a mistake late in the race cost Robinson precious tenths and dropped her to third place.
“I was a little disappointed with that mistake, especially at the end, but I've been skiing well lately and that was my only mistake of the weekend,” Robinson said.
Swiss Camille Rast and American star Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished sixth on Saturday, clocked the same time of 2:14.17 to round out the top five. It was Rast's second consecutive fourth place finish.
Richardson finishes 12th
Britt Richardson of Canmore, Alta., the only Canadian competing in the second run, finished 12th after being eighth fastest in the first run.
“I'm disappointed with my second run, but overall I'm happy with the weekend and excited to be racing in Canada,” said Richardson, who finished 15th on Saturday. “Still working on finding that consistency in my cross-country skiing and being able to score two runs at once, but I'm benefiting from having two top-10 finishes in the first runs this weekend.
“I hope to move in that direction and find some consistency.”
Scheib moved to within 12 points of Robinson's giant slalom standings, which leads 292 to 280 after four races.
“It's easier for me to ski. I enjoy skiing, I trust my skiing, I'm more stable,” Scheib said. “It's a good feeling.”
He is followed by Croatian Zrinka Ljutic, who finished seventh on Sunday, with 178 points, ahead of Rast (161) and Hector (161). Grenier is ninth with 104 points, while Richardson is in the top 15 with 64 points.
Shiffrin still leads the overall standings with 458 points, well ahead of Albanians Lara Kolturi (302), who finished 15th, and Robinson (292).
