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Alice Robinson of New Zealand secured a record-setting World Cup giant slalom victory at Copper Mountain in Colorado on Saturday.
Robinson’s fifth career win in a two-run time of one minute 58.91 seconds makes her the most successful women's World Cup winner from a non-European or North American nation, according to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
She broke a tie with compatriot Claudia Riegler for that honour.
WATCH | Alice Robinson wins 1st race of season at Copper Mountain:Alice Robinson was near flawless on her second run to take top spot in Colorado."It's always really special for me to represent New Zealand, especially in a sport like ski racing that's so dominated by North America and Europe," Robinson said. "So I'm really proud of that."
Robinson led Sara Hector of Sweden by 29-100ths of a second after the first run and perfectly defended her advantage with an equal-best second run on the course set at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) in Colorado.
Julia Scheib of Austria was second in 1:59.87 and Norway's Louise Stjernesund (1:59.99) completed the podium.
World Cup giant slalom winner Alice Robinson, centre, poses with runner-up Julia Scheib, left, and third place finisher Thea Louise Stjernesund following their skiing race. (Robert F. Bukaty/The Associated Press)Below the podium, the Canadians failed to crack the top 10.
Two-time Olympian Valérie Grenier of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was sixth following her opening run and finished 13th in 2:00.98 for her 43rd top-20 finish on the World Cup circuit.
“I’m pretty disappointed with today’s race,” Grenier told Alpine Canada. “I’ve been skiing well this week in training and I felt good coming into the race. It’s disappointing not to ski that way in the race.
WATCH | 'Disappointed' Grenier 13th in Colorado:Valérie Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., finished just outside the top 10 in a giant slalom event at Copper Mountain, Colo.“It’s hard in the moment, but I’m really excited for Tremblant. It’s one of my favourite races and now that we have the green light that the race is on it makes me really happy. It’s two races at home in front of the home crowd and I’m super excited to see all the fans and to put on a good show.”
Britt Richardson of Canmore, Alta., was 10th after the first run and placed 16th in 2:01.24, her 11th top-20 finish.
Three Canadians failed to complete the event. Arianne Forget of Saint-Jérôme, Que., didn't finish top 30 to qualify for the second run, placing 42nd, while Justine Lamontagne (St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que.) and Cassidy Gray (Panorama, B.C.) did not finish the first run.
Mont-Tremblant hosts back-to-back women's World Cup giant slaloms Dec. 6-7.