Featured Image: The Alpine Canada Women’s Tech Team, Cassidy Gray, Laurence St-Germain, Ali Nullmeyer, Valerie Grenier, Sarah Bennett, Britt Richardson and Amelia Smart, stand together in Killington. Credit: GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek

In less than four days, Tremblant, Quebec, will echo with excitement as they host their first World Cup race since 1983! The top female tech ski racers from around the globe will compete to be first across the finish line in Giant-slalom. The Alpine Canadian women racing in this World Cup include, Valérie Grenier, Britt Richardson, Cassidy Gray, and Sarah Bennett.

Brett Richardson, Alpine Canada World Cup skier, stated, “It’s the first World Cup that I’ll do on home soil, so that’s special to me. And to be wearing the maple leaf on my back while competing right here in Canada, it’s going to be super awesome.”

The women’s squad expects an enthusiastic turnout, especially given Quebec’s reputation for fervent alpine skiing fans. For some, competing at home in front of friends and family can bring nerves the athletes must prepare for, but for this team, the women are excited!

Richardson explained, “I’m really excited to see the energy from Canadian fans and I know that there’s going to be a lot of people in the crowd and I’m super excited to see that and come through the finish and feel the energy from all the Canadians!”

Sarah Bennett, Alpine Canada World Cup skier added, “I think it’ll be a little bit less intimidating. It’s going to be the opposite (of nerve-wracking); it will be like a familiar feeling.”

Valérie Grenier, Alpine Canada’s top GS female athlete, has expressed similar emotions about racing on her home hill. She stated, “It is a dream come true to race on my home hill here at Tremblant. I am so excited to race in front of family and friends, there are so many coming I can’t even give you a number.”

The Canadian Team’s Prep for Tremblant

Last spring, toward the end of the 2022-23 season, the women’s Alpine Canada team had the opportunity to train on the Tremblant race hill. This could bring an advantage to the group of athletes as they have been able to see the terrain and study the critical parts of the hill. 

Richardson explained, “Last spring, we did a camp here and we were here for about two weeks. So we got to spend that whole time on the race hill, trying to get to know the hill and understand where the rolls are and what the tricky parts are.”

Richardson, Grenier and other teammates participated in running full length down the improved race track during the camp. Unfortunately, Bennett had to start lower down the hill because she was returning to snow from a shoulder injury. “I was coming back from injury when we were training in Tremblant and when we were on the hill, so I never actually got to train the whole hill. I just got to train, I’ll say 70% of it, but I’m sure it’ll help me with the terrain and the familiarity for sure,” Bennett stated.

Bennett aims to score her first World Cup points, so she looked to her teammates for more insight about the other parts of the hill she missed during the training. She explained, “I think many of the girls definitely know what to expect, and so I’m chatting with them about it.” 

A Boon for the Canadian Alpine Community 

This World Cup is anticipated to spread even more support, excitement and admiration for alpine ski racing in Eastern Canada. On top of bringing winter enthusiasts together for a fun weekend, it creates an environment that influences, motivates and inspires the younger generation of athletes competing or looking to compete in the sport. 

As a Quebecian, Bennett said, “When I was young, I never got the experience to see or meet any World Cup skier up close or see them compete. So seeing them in person instead of on TV will make everything a little bit more feasible for them, I think, and will inspire them to keep going.”

Richardson stated, “I think it’s just bringing much more attention to the sport in Canada. I think that they’re doing an excellent job of advertising it. There’s lots of social media and a lot about it. So I think that it is going to be super helpful for the future of Canadian ski racing.”

Quebec has the second most ski resorts in Canada and according to the Ski Canada Organization, it has the highest snow sports participation rate. Thus, bringing World Cups back into the province should only increase the area’s support for alpine skiing. 

The Positive Atmosphere of the Women’s Tech Team 

After the first few World Cups this season, it is apparent that the Women’s Female Tech Team has various levels and goals. Nonetheless, this does not seem to be causing the positive culture amongst the women’s tech team to shift in any negative direction. 

Bennett stated, “The atmosphere on the team is really great! The girls are super great. We have a little bit of some disappointment on one side and good results on the other, so it’s just a mix of everything, but overall, everyone’s just pulling each other up constantly, so that’s really good.” 

Valérie Grenier who won a World Cup GS in Kranjska Gora last season and earned a 5th-place position this past weekend in Killington, she expressed, “I hope everyone has a great time this weekend and I know all the women will put on a great performance for the fans. I want to ski well and a podium would be amazing.”

Her teammates are stoked to cheer her on and conquer missions of their own. Britt Richardson has just come off of two top-25 finishes and had the best run of her World Cup career in Killington, coming down with the 10th fastest first run. That performance reveals that she can be a top-10 contender in the Tremblant World Cup GS races.

“The vibe on the team right now is really good. I think we have such an awesome group of girls right now and we’re all feeding off each other’s energy of just trying to get better every day and seeing the success for my teammates already in the few races we’ve had this year is really inspiring,” Richardson stated.  

We are excited to watch the Canadian women shred, slay and conquer this weekend on home snow! The tech women will cheer each other on with an enthusiastic crowd during the much anticipated World Cup in Tremblant. Stay tuned for more information on the race schedule.