World Cup of alpine skiing at Tremblant starting in 2023?

Valérie Grenier on Tremblant’s Jasey-Jay Anderson run, on February 15, 2022. ©Gary Yee

We can foresee it. Alpine Canada and Mont Tremblant Ski Resort are working together to host, annually, an FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup at Tremblant. Tremblant would have it for a minimum of three consecutive years, starting December 2 and 3, 2023.

“The support of the Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard (FIS), which has made a commitment to register two giant slalom events on the long-term calendar of the Women’s Alpine World Cup, is conditional on the improvements made to the proposed run and on the holding of a successful test event,” one can read in the press release issued by Alpine Canada on October 18.

Station Mont Tremblant is already going ahead with widening the Flying Mile – the run reserved for the event – in order to conform to FIS safety parameters. A test event of the Nor-Am development circuit is scheduled for February 27 to March 2, 2023. If all goes well, one of the biggest dreams of Erik Guay – Canada’s most decorated alpine skier – will become reality.

“It has always been one of my dreams to bring the World Cup to Tremblant,” says Erik Guay, now member of the Alpine Canada Alpin board of directors. “The impact for our community – which is a skiing community – will be magical. I expect to meet, and even surpass, Killington – the most visited women’s World Cup venue – in terms of customer traffic.”

A lengthy task

According to Erik, who has been working to bring the World Cup to Tremblant for five years, getting this project to actually happen is largely due to two individuals and their respective teams: Thérèse Brisson, president and CEO of Alpine Canada, and Patrice Malo, president and chief operating officer of Mont Tremblant Ski Resort.

A major event can be expected

The female skiers will end their race at the base of the Flying Mile just a few metres from Tremblant’s pedestrian village. Erik concedes that it won’t be the toughest run on the World Cup circuit, but according to him, it’s good for skiers to perform sometimes on less difficult runs.

“The women skiers will be coming from Killington, Vermont, where the run is really not easy,” Erik explains. “What I like about the Flying Mile is that it has a bit of everything. The pitch at the top is very steep and then there are false flats and nice changes of terrain. What will be really spectacular is that the last pitch before re-entering the village is like a natural amphitheatre. For the spectators, it will be awesome. It will be magnificent.”

A dream for the next generation

The youngsters in the Mont-Tremblant Ski Club will have the opportunity to train on a run that meets FIS ratification standards. Once it’s widened, the Flying Mile will be an ideal training centre where two giant slalom courses can be laid out side-by-side. The ascent, via the flying Mile chair, will also allow for a sustained speed of linked-up descents.

“We were lacking a run like the one in Quebec City,” Erik continues. “It will be powerful for the Club, but for the Laurentians and the province of Québec, as well. We have excellent young athletes who distinguish themselves all over the province. They’d be able to see the greatest women skiers in the world take on the slope where they train all winter. Let’s hope that this World Cup can remain in Tremblant so that one day, the youngsters from the Club and the Laurentians can contest a World Cup right here at home. For Valérie Grenier, it will be really special to compete in a World Cup event right where she has trained for ages. I can imagine that the fact of being encouraged by your own people will be pretty cool,” he concludes.

 

More from this author by clicking on his photo below.

Guillaume Vincent

 

Guillaume Vincent430 Posts

Rédacteur et journaliste de profession, Guillaume Vincent a fait ses armes au sein de l’agence QMI. Il s’est joint au Tremblant Express en 2014. Promu en 2017, il y assume depuis le rôle de rédacteur en chef et directeur de la publication. / A writer and photojournalist by profession, Guillaume Vincent won his stripes in the QMI agency. He joined Tremblant Express in 2014. Promoted in 2017, he has been editor-in-chief and co-publisher since then.

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