‘Dream come true’: Canada’s Val Grenier wins bronze in World Cup giant slalom on home snow at Mont-Tremblant

Some bronze medals are worth their weight in gold. Valerie Grenier's third place in the women's giant slalom at the Mont-Tremblant World Cup certainly fits this category.

Grenier moved up two spots in Saturday's second run, finishing with a total time of 2 minutes, 17.18 seconds to take bronze in the first of two races at the ski resort northwest of Montreal.

The 29-year-old from Saint-Isidore, Ont., who grew up skiing in Mont-Tremblant, was one second behind gold medalist Alice Robinson of New Zealand.

“It's incredible. I don’t have enough words to describe how I feel,” Grenier said in the mixed zone at the end of the Flying Mile course. “I find it hard to believe. It feels like a dream has come true.”

“I really wanted it to happen this weekend,” she added. “Winning a medal here at home is high on my list.”

The medal also helps calm her 11th and 13th place finishes in the first two races of the season, results Grenier described as disappointing.

“I knew I was capable of more,” she said. “To finally get two clean runs, like I said, it feels really good.”

“I think this is a lifelong dream for her. And for us, reaching the podium here is the result of all the work we have done,” said her coach Laurent Praz. “It also rewards the work of all team members and volunteers at Tremblant. A podium here is worth much more than a podium in Europe.”

Grenier reached the World Cup podium for the first time since finishing third in the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, in January 2024, and for the fifth time in her career.

Two days after her podium finish in Cortina, she suffered serious injuries to her right leg and knee that would sideline her until the 2024–25 season.

Once she won her medal on Saturday, she was visibly emotional at the finish line.

“It was a big reaction, big tears in our eyes,” Grenier said. “I still can’t believe this happened. When my teammates jumped into my arms, I cried a lot. I've been waiting for this for a long time, especially after the injury. It took time, and to see me back on the podium feels good.”

Robinson's consecutive wins

Robinson finished ahead of silver medalist Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia (2:17.12) for her second straight victory.

“I was a little nervous this morning because the conditions here were a lot different than last weekend, so I wasn’t sure that last weekend’s good skiing necessarily meant it would be good this weekend,” she said. “I’m very happy that I was able to see this through in these conditions, which were really tough today.”

Switzerland's Camille Rast (2:17.39) and France's Clara Dires (2:17.69) rounded out the top five. American star Mikaela Shiffrin (2:17.83), third after the first run, was only 20th fastest in the second run and finished the day in sixth place.

Grenier led the three Canadians to the second stage of the World Cup. Britt Richardson, ninth after the first run, finished 15th in 2:18.65. Cassidy Gray (2:20.33) placed 27th.

The course and constant snowfall throughout the first run seemed to cause trouble for several skiers, including some of the favorites.

Austrian Julia Scheib, who was leading the standings on the day, failed to complete her first run, as did Sweden's Sarah Hector, fifth in the rankings and first out of the gate on Saturday.

Only eight out of 50 skiers failed to reach the finish line.

The second giant slalom event is set for Sunday at 9:45 a.m. ET and will be livestreamed on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.