Twenty-four hours after being disqualified for having made a false start on the same track, Canadian Valérie Grenier recovered with confidence on Wednesday by finishing fifth in the giant slalom in Semmering, Austria.
Holder of 12e ranking after the opening run, the Ottawa native outperformed all her rivals on her second run, which she completed in one minute and 3.18 seconds.
Her overall time of 2:04:36 left her 85 hundredths of a second behind the winner, American Mikaela Shiffrin, and 38 hundredths of a second behind Italian Marta Bassino, who placed third.
Grenier even occupied the seat reserved for the leader during a few runs of other riders before ending up in the fifth rung.
It’s the fourth time Grenier has finished in the top five of a World Cup race, and the first time this season.
“It’s really a great feeling to get a good result today,” said Grenier.
“This second run was fantastic. I focused on my technique and I stuck to my plan. It was great to sit in the leader’s seat for a little while, even though I knew I probably wasn’t going to stay there,” she added.
Britt Richardson was the only other Canadian to take part in the competition, but her time of 1:04:28 in the first run did not allow her to qualify for the second run.
Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, who held a 22 hundredths of a second lead over Shiffrin after the opening run, slipped to second after scoring the 14e second run time.
For Shiffrin, who also won the giant slalom presented on Tuesday on the same track, it is a 79e career victory on the World Cup circuit.
“It was difficult, it was so dark, with some big bumps. I tried to push,” described Shiffrin, who needs just three more triumphs to catch up with compatriot Lindsey Vonn, the all-time record holder for the number of victories in women’s alpine skiing.
Shiffrin could take another step in that direction on Thursday, when the Semmering track will be the site of a slalom.