Grenier Sidelined Again: Canadian Giant Slalom Winner Faces Surgery Days Before the World Cup Opener

Valérie Grenier arrived in Sölden this month as the winner of last season’s final giant slalom, with a new coach and a fresh start. She is now flying home to Canada for knee surgery. The 29-year-old hurt her right knee in training on the Rettenbach glacier, and the season-opening giant slalom will start without her. Her latest setback comes less than two years after a serious knee reconstruction, and its full extent is still unknown.

What happened in Sölden

Grenier was injured on Saturday 17 October during a training session on the Sölden race hill, which was shared by several national federations. She revealed it two days later on Instagram, with a photo of herself on crutches and in a brace. She wrote that she was “devastated” and would only learn the full extent of the damage in Friday’s operation. Race Ski Magazine, the Italian outlet that first reported the story, said she described herself as devastated and heartbroken and thanked fans for their support. She also wished her fellow racers well for the weekend.

The surgery is scheduled for Friday 23 October, and the injury rules her out of the women’s giant slalom in Sölden on Saturday 24 October. No diagnosis or return date has been announced. She plans to share an update next week, and Alpine Canada has given no timeline.

A season that began with promise

Grenier ended the 2025–26 campaign on a high. She won the giant slalom at the World Cup Finals in Hafjell, the venue for the Lillehammer finals, by 0.43 seconds. It was the biggest victory of her career and a bounce back from disappointing performances at her third Olympics, Milano Cortina 2026. It was her third World Cup win, after back-to-back victories at Kranjska Gora in 2023 and 2024. She finished seventh in the final giant slalom standings and had also taken third on home snow in Mont-Tremblant in December. After the Finals victory, she said the result gave her plenty of confidence for next season.

A string of setbacks

The new injury comes on top of a difficult history. In January 2024 she crashed in a World Cup super-G at Cortina d’Ampezzo, only two days after her first downhill podium. The crash left her needing surgery for a fractured humerus, a torn ACL, a partially torn MCL and a torn meniscus. She returned to racing in November 2024. That rehabilitation involved complications. Her knee plateaued during recovery because of a cyst behind it, which her surgeon later resolved. She also had earlier problems. She underwent surgery in 2016 for chronic exertional compartment syndrome in her shins.

This preseason brought another interruption. Race Ski Magazine reports she fell in a giant slalom run in Argentina and damaged the cartilage of her sternoclavicular joint, which forced a short break. She had resumed full training in Val Senales only a few days before the Sölden injury.

A new partnership, interrupted

The timing is cruel for her new coaching arrangement. Alpine Canada added Swiss coach Mauro Pini, formerly with Italy’s men’s team, to its 2026/27 staff. He is dedicated entirely to Grenier. The 61-year-old left the Italian national team after the Olympics. One Italian outlet noted that the pair had barely had time to enjoy the first days of their work together before facing a serious obstacle.

A crowded treatment room at the opener

Grenier’s absence adds to a growing list of big names missing the start of the season. Italians Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia are also skipping the women’s opener. The same news cycle included a training accident involving veteran Norwegian speed skier Aleksander Kilde. Race Ski Magazine’s front page the same day also reported the retirement of Austrian downhiller Max Franz.

Closing thoughts

Grenier has returned from major injuries before, and her Hafjell victory showed she can win at the highest level. She has described herself as resilient, and she may need that quality again. For now the questions are about surgery and recovery. How serious is the damage, how long will she be away, and can she make the comeback for a fourth time? The answers should come in the days after Friday’s operation. Until then, the Canadian team and Pini must plan their winter without one of Canada’s strongest technical skiers.