Scheib caps World Cup ski stop at Tremblant with win; Grenier out after first run

MONT-TREMBLANT – Valérie Grenier wasn’t able to repeat Saturday’s exploits in the second leg of the Mont-Tremblant alpine skiing World Cup. 

Austria’s Julia Scheib raced to a giant slalom victory Sunday, while Grenier, of St-Isidore, Ont., drifted off course with three gates remaining in her first run after winning bronze in Saturday’s giant slalom.

“I came down knowing the course kept turning quite a bit,” Grenier said in the finish area. “Unfortunately, I did something I often do, a little hit after the gate, which made me almost do a 180. That’s what happened today. It’s something I need to keep working on.”

That small mistake coming out of the turn cut short what was shaping up to be a promising run. The 29-year-old, who learned to ski at Mont-Tremblant, was right behind leaders Alice Robinson of New Zealand and Scheib.

“I wasn’t sure. I had some weird feelings. There were some sections where I felt it 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 was skiing 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 pick up her third giant slalom medal of the season.

She also won gold at home in Soelden on Oct. 25 and took silver last week at Copper Mountain, Colo., but didn’t finish the first run at Mont-Tremblant on Saturday.

“Really happy right now,” said the 27-year-old. “After yesterday, was not that easy, but really happy with the second run.”

Sweden’s Sara 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 of the World Cup stop, Scheib delivered a tremendous second run, forcing Robinson to push hard to keep pace. But a mistake late in the course cost Robinson precious tenths and dropped her to third place.

“I’m a little disappointed to have made that mistake, especially at the end, but I’ve been skiing well lately, and that was my only mistake of the weekend,” Robinson said.

Switzerland’s Camille Rast and American star Mikaela Shiffrin — who finished sixth Saturday — posted matching times of 2:14.17 to round out the top five. It was the second straight fourth-place finish for Rast.

Britt Richardson of Canmore, Alta., the only Canadian to ski in the second run, finished 12th after posting the eighth-fastest opening run.

“I’m frustrated with my second run, but overall happy with the weekend and happy to be racing in Canada,” said Richardson, who placed 15th Saturday. “Still working on finding that consistency a bit in my ski racing and being able to put two runs down at a time, but I’m taking the positives from having two top-10s in the first runs this weekend.

“Hoping to move forward with that and find a bit of consistency.”

Scheib moved to within 12 points in the giant slalom standings of Robinson, who leads 292 to 280 after four races.

“It feels easier. I enjoy skiing, I trust my skiing, I’m more solid,” Scheib said. “It’s a good feeling.”

Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic, seventh on Sunday, follows with 178 points, ahead of Rast (161) and Hector (161). Grenier sits ninth with 104 points, while Richardson has cracked the top 15 with 64.

Shiffrin still leads the overall standings with 458 points, well ahead of Albania’s Lara Colturi (302), who finished 15th, and Robinson (292).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2025.