Women's World Cup ski races conditionally approved for Mont-Tremblant, Que., in 2023

Women's World Cup ski racing is coming to Mont-Tremblant, Que.

Alpine Canada and the ski resort northwest of Montreal have conditional approval from skiing's world governing body for annual women's giant slalom races from 2023 to 2025, Alpine Canada said Tuesday in a statement.

Course improvements are underway and test races are scheduled for February and March.

The first double giant slalom races at Mont-Tremblant's World Cup are planned for Dec. 2-3, 2023.

"People at Tremblant have been talking about trying to hold a World Cup there for 15 years," Alpine Canada chief executive officer Therese Brisson told The Canadian Press.

Canada's slalom and giant slalom skiers rarely race at home. Panorama, B.C. was the site of women's slalom and GS in 2007.

"Our women's team, we're so incredibly strong in tech events, yet we didn't have a World Cup," Brisson said.

"Having a tech event was something that was very much a priority, and just so close to Montreal, where there's the Laurentians, and even into Eastern Ontario, there's an amazing fan base that rarely gets to see live World Cup ski racing."

Canada has been a regular stop on the international downhill circuit for three decades.

Lake Louise, Alta., will host men's and women's World Cup downhills and super-G races Nov. 25-27 and Dec. 2-4, respectively, for a total of six races.

Two-time Olympian Valerie Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., is thrilled at the prospect of racing GS, which is her specialty, on the mountain where she learned to ski.

"I'm just so freaking happy," the 25-year-old told The Canadian Press from Italy, where's she's training for Saturday's giant slalom in Soelden, Austria.

"It's a dream come true because every time I see athletes from other countries race at