Encouraged by her return to snow at the same time as her Canadian teammates, Valérie Grenier sees herself returning to competition during the North American World Cup tour, in Killington (Vermont) and Tremblant, at the end of November and beginning of December.
Published yesterday at 5:26 p.m.
The 27-year-old skier, however, wants to play it safe seven months after injuries to her knee and shoulder, suffered during a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo on January 28. Without closing the door completely, she does not seem to be considering participation in the giant slalom Sölden, in Austria, the traditional opening event scheduled for a month to the day.
“It would be very cool to start again at the first race of the season, but I don’t know if it’s really possible,” admitted Grenier, in a very good mood for an online meeting with Canadian media on Thursday afternoon. .
The Mont-Tremblant resident will know more after a second internship in Italy, where she will go at the end of next week.
When I see if I can ski well in more race-like conditions, it will give me a better idea. But I really don’t want to skip any steps. I want to take the time I need. If that means I can’t start in Sölden, it really doesn’t matter. I prefer to be 100% ready.
Valérie Grenier
That she can already consider taking on the best on the planet is a victory in itself. Operated twice, including a complete reconstruction of his right knee on February 12 in Montreal, Grenier experienced inevitable setbacks during his convalescence and rehabilitation period. To his surprise, it was initially his left shoulder (humerus fracture) that delayed his progress in the gym. The slow healing prevented her from gripping bars when her knee was finally ready to receive loading.
His progress then hit “a plateau” due to a cyst behind his knee that caused inflammation. She was then unable to bend the joint more than 90 degrees. Treatment from his orthopedist Sébastien Simard helped to control the pain and the degradation of the tissue.
Green light
So less than seven months after the operation, Grenier got the green light to ski again, which she did for three weeks in Chillán, in central Chile.
“Before arriving in Chile, I was really looking forward to skiing, but I was obviously a little stressed because I didn’t know how it was going to go and how I would feel on the snow. In the end, it went really well at first. »
After a gradual recovery where she “felt really strong”, she experienced “big sharp pains” around her right shin, which forced her to slow down. With her physiotherapist, she came to the conclusion that she suffered from muscle weakness in this area, which was accentuated on a firmer surface.
That was the challenge. I had to pay attention to the volume of descents and we took a lot of time off. Despite everything, we managed to have a good camp.
Valérie Grenier
All in all, she calculates that she skied around ten days during her stay, which included a few super-G descents on a “fairly easy and softer” slope. A bout of snow also slowed down the group’s activities.
Back since Wednesday, the Franco-Ontarian is careful not to “rush things.”
“I really want to get back to 100% shape and ski like before, aim for victory and not just participate. We’ll see. To be realistic, it might be more towards Killington. »
At the top of his art
The Tremblant World Cup will follow, where she placed eighth and sixth in front of her team during the inaugural edition last winter.
I’m really looking forward to skiing there and I hope to be at the top of my game and ready to go all out to give a good show to all the spectators, my family, my friends. But it’s so hard to say how I’m going to feel and how it’s going to be.
Valérie Grenier
After her stay in the Laurentians, Valérie Grenier followed up with a fourth place in Lienz and a second consecutive victory in Kranjska Gora, in Slovenia, which is starting to become her favorite resort.
Two days before her fall in super-G, she caused a surprise by finishing third – in a three-way tie! – in Cortina, his first podium in speed. This memory is still fresh in her mind and she felt “good thrills” revisiting the Olympia delle Tofane course with virtual reality glasses that she uses for training.
« Je me sens encore bien là-bas [elle avait également fini quatrième en super-G en 2019, NDLR] and I’m excited to ski there too for the Olympics in 2026.”
Broken in returns – she missed the entire 2019-2020 season after a quadruple fracture in one leg – the former world junior downhill champion is not afraid of having to wait before returning to her usual level. She was fifth in the giant rankings at the time of her injury.
“I was in such a good place that I feel like, technically speaking, I probably won’t need that much time on snow to get back to the top of my game. »
