The president and CEO of Alpine Canada, Thérèse Brisson, gives a rating of “10 out of 10” to the first World Cup organized in Mont-Tremblant in 40 years, and she hopes that the event will stay there.
Fans surrounded the finish line and filled the streets of the village during the weekend, cheering on the 61 skiers during the two giant slalom events at the Laurentides resort.
More than 15,000 spectators showed up for the descents on Saturday and Sunday. It is therefore the Women’s World Cup event which attracted the second largest crowd, after that of Killington, Vermont, according to Mme Brisson.
“Who wouldn’t be happy about that?” Yes, we would like to make Mont-Tremblant a permanent stopover for years to come,” said M.me Brisson on Sunday.
Mont-Tremblant, which hosted its first Alpine Ski World Cup competition in 1983, this year replaced Lake Louise, Alberta, as the only Canadian stop on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) women’s calendar.
We have to believe that Mont-Tremblant did not disappoint.
“The athletes are delighted and the coaches are very happy,” said M.me Brisson. What they really appreciate is that the fans understand the competition. They encourage each skier, up to 61e. It’s unique. »
Back next year
Alpine Canada has announced that two giant slalom races are scheduled for next year, from December 6 to 8. Although Mont-Tremblant is also on the FIS long-term calendar for the 2025-2026 season, everything will not be confirmed until next year.
Valérie Grenier has already won gold in the World Cup giant slalom and was the best Canadian of the weekend.
She is a native of Eastern Ontario, but considers Mont-Tremblant her home.
“The region has such a large and enthusiastic fan base,” added Ms.me Brisson. We have a very committed community of volunteers, and for that, it made perfect sense for us to organize a World Cup here, in Quebec, in the east. »
“ [J’ai aimé] the atmosphere when we arrived here, after passing through Killington, which has the loudest crowd in the World Cup, and seeing that we could hear the fans from the start again, indicated the record holder for victories in the World Cup. world, the American Mikaela Shiffrin. The enthusiasm of the people was beautiful to see. »
“The professional ski community in Mont-Tremblant is definitely a strong point in Canada,” added British Columbia native Cassidy Gray. There aren’t many places that can do better. »
The head coach of the Canadian women’s team, Laurent Praz, said that having all these fans there to see the athletes was essential to the development of the sport in the country, and it therefore made even more sense to have the event in Mont-Tremblant.
“It was a great giant slalom and a great downhill at Lake Louise, for sure,” he said last week. However, I have the feeling that we feel more of this passion for this sport here, in this region. At Lake Louise, no one came to watch the race at the end. »