Valérie Grenier may well be one of the best skiers on the planet, the Sölden wall always has the same effect on her.
For the fifth time in his career, the Mont-Tremblant athlete will kick off his Alpine Skiing World Cup season with a giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier, at an altitude of more than 3,000 m, on Saturday. Renowned for its steep drop that is sustained at around 60%, the same track will also welcome men the next day, a rarity in the white circus.
Like all the competitors, Grenier had the opportunity to train there for two days last week. In all candor, the one who will be at her 77e World Cup start admits the place is intimidating.
“Every year, when you get to the Sölden track, it’s pretty intense to see it,
she said from the Austrian station on Wednesday. When you start to ski on it, it looks like it’s better. ”
Since its passage, however, the course will have been injected with water from top to bottom to make it as hard as possible and to maintain fair conditions for the last starters.
At the same date last year, the Franco-Ontarian had not participated in any competition for 20 months due to a quadruple fracture to her leg suffered at the World Championships in Åre in 2019. In addition, her summer preparation had was marred by problems with a boot that was causing her pain.
PHOTO MALCOLM CARMICHAEL, SUPPLIED BY ALPINE CANADA
Valerie Grenier
Despite a late bib, she had finished 25e for his big comeback. After this promising start, she had followed with three results in the top 20 in her next four starts. What to get carried away.
Precisely, Grenier, like those around her, believes she got a little too carried away afterwards. She no longer scored a point in addition to going to the fault in the first round at the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“Obviously, I wanted to do better and better, I was getting a little too excited. If I had a good first run, I would say to myself:
“Oh my God, I could really well
to do !” There I was losing my focus for maybe half a second on my second run, and that’s where I made a mistake or lost my lead. “
Keep calm
The watchword this year: keep calm. The soon-to-25-year-old has had excellent fall preparation, dividing his time between Stelvio, Italy, Saas-Fee and Zermatt, Switzerland.
“In total, it was not millions of days of skiing, but they were all quality days. I did not miss one, everything went well. That’s why it’s better than last year. His only regret: the soft conditions imposed by the weather.
Like the majority of the athletes on the circuit, however, she got the cage shaken earlier this week during three days of training in Val Senales, across the border, Italy.
“It was just really rough, bumpy and icy. It hurt all over the place. The courses were very turning. So I didn’t have good feelings. From what I heard, it was the same for all the other athletes who were there. ”
Injured in super-G training at the 2019 Worlds, Grenier has still not returned to the speed events, except for her participation in the Cortina World Championships, where she did not finish the super-G. Last season, she experienced a “mental block” when it came time to get back to training. The problem reappeared in the fall.
PHOTO MARCO BERTORELLO, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Valérie Grenier, in January 2021, during the Plan de Corones World Cup stage, in Italy
“As soon as I get a little out of control I don’t feel good and have to stop. I try to find the right balance because I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be aware of the risks I’m taking. But right now it’s like too much. ”
Regain confidence
The pill is hard to swallow for the former world junior downhill champion, who was known to never be cold in the eyes. To alleviate the problem, she started working with a mental trainer.
We have talked a lot to try to find precisely what scares me. I do a lot of visualization. I think we have found some solutions. I have a different perspective and it looks good.
Valerie Grenier
She will only have two days of speed training in Colorado before deciding whether to line up in the super-G at Lake Louise in early December. “Maybe it could give me the chance to regain my confidence. ”
The native of Saint-Isidore immediately rules out participation in the Beijing Olympics super-combined, which includes a downhill round. At PyeongChang, she finished sixth in this event, the best Canadian result in South Korea. “I don’t plan to do a downhill before a end. Unfortunately, the handset won’t be for me this time around. ”
Grenier therefore focuses on the giant, where she hopes to slip into the top 15 in the cumulative World Cup standings. She finished 24e in 2021, a personal peak.
And why not a first podium? The main interested party broaches the subject herself, but half-heartedly.
“I don’t like to say it since my best result is an 11e place two years ago, even three, she explains. I think it sounds weird, far-fetched. At the same time, I know I can do it. I got closer to it last year. Maybe not necessarily a full result, but during a descent. So I really believe in it. ”
It is already a big step.
Mommy Valerie
At just 24, 25 next week, Grenier will nonetheless be the veteran of the Canadian women’s World Cup team in Sölden. Her two teammates, Albertan Britt Richardson and British Columbian Cassidy Gray, are only 18 and 20 years old, respectively. As a joke, Grenier is therefore called mommy, as she herself nicknamed Marie-Michèle Gagnon at the time. The representative of the Mont-Tremblant club is happy to play the big sister. “I was a little too used to always being the youngest or having Mitch, Erin [Mielzynski] or even Marie-Pier Préfontaine in time. I always had someone on top of me. I didn’t say much, I didn’t really make decisions. It forces me to take more and express myself more. It’s cool. It’s a different role and I like it. ”