Valerie Grenier claims surprise Saturday Kranjska Gora giant slalom win as Shiffrin ties for sixth
Grenier ends a 49-year wait for a Canadian women's giant slalom winner, but USA's Shiffrin will have to wait to equal Lindsey Vonn's World Cup wins record for women.
Alpine Skiing
With her shock win in Kranjska Gora on Saturday (7 January), Valerie Grenier became the first Canadian woman in 49 years to claim a FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slalom victory.
It was a remarkable performance from the 26-year-old, who had never previously finished on a World Cup race podium let alone claim a win, as she topped the timesheets on both runs and put daylight – nearly four-tenths of a second – between herself and second-placed finisher Marta Bassino of Italy.
"I have no words, I still can't believe it. It's a dream come through," an emotional Grenier said to FIS TV afterwards. "I've been wanting this for so long, I'm just going to cry – I'm so happy, and to have the girls here too, it's unreal.
"I'm really proud of myself. I was nervous I would think about it too much but I felt so good before the second run. I felt so relaxed and excited to go."
No Canadian woman had won a World Cup giant slalom since 1974, when Kathy Kreiner – who went on to become the Olympic champion at Innsbruck 1976 – did so.
On her second run, a stunning third sector – she clocked the quickest third sector on the course by more than half a second – made the difference for Grenier, who finished in a combined time of 1:55.01.
Giant slalom discipline leader Bassino was 0.37 seconds back, while Slovakia's Petra Vlhová was a further 0.03 seconds behind.
USA's Mikaela Shiffrin remains one win away from Lindsey Vonn's women's World Cup wins record of 82 and five shy of the overall leading mark of 86 (Ingemar Stenmark) after tying for sixth place.
Shiffrin's lead over Vlhova in the overall World Cup standings is therefore reduced to 369 points, while Bassino extends her giant slalom advantage over Shiffrin to 80 points.
Results - Kranjska Gora giant slalom, Saturday 7 January 2023
- Valerie Grenier (CAN) 1:55.01
- Marta Bassino (ITA) +0.37
- Petra Vlhová (SVK) +0.40
- Frederica Brignone (ITA) +0.53
- Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) +0.56
- Coralie Frasse Sombet (FRA) & Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) +1.33
- tie for 6th
- Ana Bucik (SLO) +1.38