Dave Ryding excited for British skiing’s future but ready to seize own moment now
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Updated 24/12/2019 at 18:00 GMT
British number one Dave Ryding talks to Pete Sharland about his excitement for the future of British winter sports as well as his determination to own this coming season.
Britain's Dave Ryding competes in the first round of the Men's slalom race during the FIS Alpine ski world cup championship on March 17, 2019, in Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter, in Andorra.
Image credit: Getty Images
Unconventional is a word that gets used a lot to refer to Dave Ryding.
Such is the uniqueness of his path in a sport where British athletes have very rarely succeeded that it is hard not to sing the praises of a skier who has had to do everything the hard way.
After all Marcel Hirscher, arguably the greatest of all time, said that he was nearly reduced to tears when he watched an Austrian TV documentary on Ryding’s journey to the top.
Yet in many regards Ryding is fairly conventional, for all intents and purposes he’s just a normal Lancashire boy.
Except that he’s one of the best slalom skiers in the world.
Last season saw Ryding take a silver in the Parallel Slalom at Oslo, equalling his own record for the best British Alpine Skiing World Cup event and beating Hirscher along the way. He also finished fourth in Italy after a jaw-dropping second run and finished off the season ninth in the slalom standings.
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GB's Ryding takes second podium of World Cup career in Oslo
These are impressive results, cementing his status as one of Britain’s greatest ever snow athletes, but this year Ryding wants even more.
And this is the season to do it.
Over the summer Hirscher called it a day after seven consecutive World Cup titles. This has opened the door for a whole host of riders, including Ryding.
“There’s a group of skiers who are very tightly packed together and for sure I can mix it with them.” Ryding tells Eurosport ahead of the opening weekend in Levi.
“So hopefully I can do it a bit more regularly this year and put myself in place for more podiums. I’ve had two podiums in my career but never two in the same season so that’s got to be the aim to get that consistency to get them in the same season.”
Turning those ridiculous one-off runs into consistent podiums is the biggest challenge for Ryding, who like most of his peers was not surprised to see Hirscher hang up his skis, so how does that transformation happen?
“By making sure I’m in good shape firstly, then a lot of it is a mental game,” Ryding explains.
You’ve got to put yourself in the position to win which brings the added pressure of then having everything to lose.
“The second run is always going to be on worse conditions than other people because you go down later so it’s about having the belief in yourself.”
The mental side of sport, and indeed all of life, is more important than ever and this has been one of the core areas of focus for Dan Hunt since his arrival as GB Snowsport Performance Director.
Hunt, who was previously one of the masterminds behind the rise of British Cycling, is part of a program being put in place at GB Snowsport that eventually should lead to serious success at the highest level.
Given his background Hunt would likely be the first to admit that he is no expert on the technicalities of Alpine Skiing, and there are a lot of minute complications, but that’s not his job. His role is to find those little details that can be turned into subtle tweaks that can be the difference for an athlete like Ryding turning top ten finishes into podiums.
“He never puts pressure on me to get results,” Ryding says of Hunt. “It’s just trying to improve me as a person, making sure I tick all the boxes so that when I do come to race I’m in a better position to perform.”
The big goal for GB Snowsport as a whole is reaching to become a top five winter sports nation by 2030, it’s something that CEO Vicky Gosling regularly stressed during our conversation a month ago. But how likely is it from the point of view of someone in the system?
Turns out a veteran like Ryding is impressed with what’s being done.
“Right now it’s [British skiing] very strong, we’ve got Alex [Tilley] and Charlie [Guest] on the women’s side then on the men’s side we’ve got myself and a bunch of youngsters.
“Whilst it’s not showing right now on the results side in five or 10 years' time it’ll be a whole different story in terms of where British skiing is.
“It comes from the real base that the federation and program have put in. There’s still some work to do in terms of the pathway but that will come with time.
The more people we have towards the top in each of the disciplines then there’s going to be a chance. You don’t need ten people to win gold you just need one.
“We’re never going to have the same pool or depth as the Austrians but if you have the people at the top end then we can compete.”
The pool of young skiers is as strong as it’s ever been, with more riders choosing to race with Britain rather than elsewhere, the challenge now is to get them into the professional sphere.
That’s what GB Snowsport are focusing on, hiring world-class coaching and performance staff to ensure that when these younger athletes come through they have the best structure possible to succeed.
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Britain's David Ryding reacts after competing in the second run of the men's slalom event at the 2019 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships at the National Arena in Are, Sweden, on February 17, 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
As Ryding points out in a typically self-deprecatingly humorous fashion: “Whether they make it or not is a different thing because I didn’t look promising when I was younger! It’s a funny old game, sport.”
He may not have looked great when he was younger, and in his defence given he had to develop on dry slopes it would have been very difficult to standout, but there’s no doubting Ryding’s talent now.
The problem with success comes added pressure and expectations. Ryding knows that unless he’s getting a top ten finish (or sometimes even higher) his performances won’t be talked about in the same ways on social media. He sees the same for Tilley who is performing well in a highly competitive women’s field.
Ryding however tries to take it as a compliment “because it shows where I’m at and where people think I can be.”
With Hirscher gone that external pressure will be ramped up, but as Ryding is keen to point out there’s still a load of hugely talented skiers left to fill the void.
Henrik Kristoffersen and Alexis Pinturault were the two tipped to step into Hirscher’s shoes immediately, while in the slalom Daniel Yule and exciting youngster Clement Noel were the two who pushed the Austrian legend the hardest last season.
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'World class!' - Pinturault takes brilliant win in Soelden
When I sat down with Gosling ahead of the start of the season I asked her what Ryding’s legacy would be when he eventually decides to retire.
She smiled and thought for a bit before saying, “I think when you look at Dave Ryding, how he learnt literally on a dry slope and what he has put into it… he’s just so talented.
“He’s so technically good and his legacy will be demonstrating Brits with grit who have really had to fight for it combined with that technique.
“He wasn’t born on the slopes or with an affluent background but he’s made the most of what he’s got.
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Dave Ryding of Great Britain reacts after the second run of the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Men's Slalom January 26, 2019 in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Image credit: Getty Images
“Fingers crossed he leaves a legacy of a gold medal, he’s worked hard enough and he certainly deserves it.
“When you look back at him as an individual what you see is what you get, he’s a very humble individual who is a great inspiration to kids.”
It sums Ryding up very nicely, he’s not come from the traditionally wealthy background that you would associate with skiing, he’s really just a normal person.
Save for that unbelievable determination, coupled with magnificent technique on skis. If any rider deserves to finally end Great Britain’s World Cup gold medal duck it is Ryding, and he is extremely well-placed to do so.
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