“I always get back up and just really fight all the way through”: Valérie Grenier wants to race to win post-injury

When Valérie Grenier returns to alpine ski racing, she doesn’t want it just to be for the sake of getting back out there–she wants to be a competitor.

“I want to start feeling 100%, and really feeling like I can ski like myself–to try to go for the win, not just to go for a ski.”

The 27-year-old from St-Isidore, Ontario, is building back into form after a nasty crash during a World Cup super-G race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in January 2024. Grenier required surgery to fix her fractured humerus, as well as reconstructive surgeries on a torn ACL, partially torn MCL, and torn meniscus.

The crash came a mere two days after Grenier notched her fourth career World Cup podium–a third place in downhill, also at Cortina. Just a few weeks earlier, she had taken a World Cup victory in giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Despite a tough end to what was shaping into a huge season, Grenier’s results from last year have left her with high hopes for the coming season. She was able to join her Canadian teammates on snow for the first time since the crash during a September training camp in Chile, boosting her confidence that she can soon be back as a competitor after months of arduous rehab.

“I feel good about my skiing. Right before my injury, I was in such a good spot that I feel like technically, I probably don’t need that much time on snow to get back to that level,” said Grenier. “As soon as I feel good enough to train a couple days in a row and just feel really strong–I think at that point I’ll be back to where I was. That’s just how I feel.”

Grenier’s quiet confidence comes not just from a stellar start to last season, but also from the experience of having built back from injuries before, and as a result, having developed one of the most crucial tools in an athlete’s toolkit–psychological resilience.

Grenier also faced a major injury and rehab process in 2019, when a crash during downhill training resulted in a broken leg and ankle.

“Something I’ve noticed–or that I’ve been told a lot throughout this injury and with the way that I’ve approached it–is that I’m pretty resilient,” Grenier said.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries and it seems like I always get back up and just really fight all the way through. And even if I keep having down moments in those rehabs, I always find a way to come back and see the positive. It makes me proud to see the way that I go through these things.”

Unfortunately, injuries are too often a part of many athletes’ journeys, and Grenier’s measured determination is a positive example of how to navigate the challenging process, both mentally and physically.

Grenier’s main advice for other athletes dealing with injury is this: take the time that you need.

“And also, celebrate the little steps, the little wins. I need to do that more,” she says with a chuckle. “Sometimes things are tough when I’m doing something, but then I think back to where I was two months ago, and it’s crazy what I’m able to do now. So I think you need to be more aware of, and really appreciate the little wins.”

Grenier has been focusing on taking the time she needs while returning to skiing. Joining back up with the team in Chile, her knee felt good, but she felt like her shin was weaker than normal and giving her some trouble, especially on the harder snow with stronger vibrations. Grenier and her team took measures to consider her volume of training and the conditions.

She sums up the blessing and the curse of being an athlete with a long injury rap sheet: “Because I’ve had so many injuries or chronic issues, it’s just always kept me from doing too much volume, and it seems to work for me. I was never the athlete that needed a lot of time on snow, so I feel like I can take that to my advantage.”

Grenier would love to start the season with the rest of Team Canada’s technical skiers in Soelden, Austria in late October, but thinks Killington, Vermont in late November might be more realistic. The World Cup event at Tremblant, where Grenier grew up skiing, is set to be a highlight on her calendar. Those giant slalom races will take place December 7-8.

“I’d love to give a good show for everyone!” she says with a laugh.

Grenier thinks that it’s a reasonable goal to replicate the same standings from last year. She’s not embarrassed about aiming high, even if others might not think it’s realistic. It’s that quiet confidence.

“Even before winning, in my mind I felt almost like an imposter to say I wanted to win, but deep down I felt like I could,” says Grenier. “I kind of feel the same way now–I want to get back to that level. I don’t know if it’s crazy to say, I don’t know if it seems unrealistic, but in my mind it’s a possibility.”

Cortina, the site of Grenier’s crash as well as her podium in the downhill last season, is the women’s alpine skiing venue for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games. When asked if she now has a love/hate relationship with that mountain, Grenier’s answer was an emphatic no.

“I love Cortina so much, it’s not even a love/hate relationship. I have such good memories of Cortina and the fact that I had that downhill result makes it such a good thing,” Grenier says. 

“I was doing a lot of visualization this summer with the VR [virtual reality] and one of the races I was looking at was the Cortina downhill. And it gave me good chills–like I was just so excited to ski down. I’m still excited to ski there–and to be there for the Olympics too.”