Dave Ryding wins Britain’s first-ever Alpine Skiing World Cup Gold Medal

Dave Ryding produced a sensational second run to win the Men’s slalom race in the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

Ryding was placed in sixth position after his first run but jumped ahead of all those above him to finish 0.38 seconds ahead of second-placed Lucas Braathen from Norway to take Britain’s first gold in 55 years at the Alpine Skiing World Cup. Fellow Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen finished a further 0.27 seconds behind to claim the bronze medal.

The English skier, who first started skiing at the age of eight on dry-ski slopes, surpassed his previous runner-up positions in the slalom in 2017 and the parallel slalom in 2019.

An ecstatic Ryding, who also collected £90,000 in prize money for winning, was overwhelmed with emotions after such a brilliant victory.

“I never stopped believing, I never stopped trying and to bring the first victory for Great Britain in a World Cup, I don’t know if dreams are made any better than this.”

The victory ends a perfect week for Ryding who was named on Friday in the British team for the Winter Olympics which start in Beijing on February 4th.

The 35-year old was truly honoured after the announcement that he will be part of the 50-strong squad for a fourth successive time.

“It’s such a huge honour to be part of Team GB again, and I can’t wait to get out there and get racing. As athletes, we take all our competitions seriously, but there’s something undeniably special about representing your country at an Olympic Games.”

Ryding’s gold in the slalom will give the British team a big boost of confidence as they try to surpass the achievements of winning five medals in the two most recent games in Pyeongchang and Sochi, which were Britain’s most successful Winter Olympics since they started in 1924.

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