Patrick Thorne, Author at InTheSnow

Dave Ryding, the only British skier to win an Alpine World Cup race, has confirmed his intention to retire at the end of the 2025/26 season after aiming to compete in his fifth Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina in February next year. Having established himself as one of Britain’s finest winter sport athletes over the course of his career, Ryding (38) made history in January 2022 with victory at the Kitzbuhel Slalom World Cup, one of seven career World Cup podiums to date. “Competing internationally, representing my country on the World Cup circuit, and going to four Olympic Games so far has been the privilege of a lifetime. I’ve always said that I’d only carry on for as long as I think I can perform to my best level, and making this decision now frees me up to give one last push to try and go one step further over the next season,” said Ryding, adding, “I know I’ve still got it in me to perform at the top of my game, but I’m also really aware that I’m at a different stage in life than I was even a few years ago. I’ve had the most incredible support along the way from so many people, but nobody more than my family, and making this decision now is also about making a decision to prioritise time with the people I love in the years to come. In a career packed full of record-breaking achievements, Ryding also boasts three World Championships top 10 finishes including a sixth place in the 2025 World Championships which marked Britain’s best Men’s Alpine World Championships result since 1934, and two Olympic top 10 finishes from the 2018 PyeongChang Games with ninth in the Slalom and fifth in Team Parallel. Long recognised as the standard bearer for British Alpine skiing, Ryding’s 2024/25 season saw him record three World Cup top-10 finishes in Gurgl (seventh), Val d’Isere (ninth), and Alta Badia (eighth) alongside World Championships sixth place, which will see him enter his final season on the international circuit as Britain’s highest ranked Alpine skier ahead of World Cup squad teammates Laurie Taylor and Billy Major. The provisional 2026 Alpine World Cup schedule is scheduled to see Levi, Finland, host the first of the season’s Slalom World Cup races on 16 November. This season has ten scheduled Slalom World Cup races before the World Cup Finals in Lillehammer, Norway, on 21-25 March 2026. “I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve received along throughout my racing career, from the fans, teammates, sponsors, the media, and everyone who’s helped me live out my dream over the past fifteen years. I hope in doing that, I’ve also showed for other Brits that you can do what I did, start out on the dry slopes, work hard, and make it to the top,” added Ryding, concluding, “There’ll be time to reflect as the year goes on, but for now I’m just focused on getting my head down, training hard this summer, and making sure I’m in the best possible shape to go out with a bang this season. It’s been one hell of a journey, and I’ve loved every second of it. Now it’s time to make this final season a special one.” Dave Ryding Career Highlights 2009 – World Cup debut in Alta Badia, Italy 2009 – makes World Championships debut, finishing 41st in Giant Slalom in Val d’Isere 2010 – competes at first career Olympic Winter Games in Whistler, Canada, finishing 47th in Giant Slalom and 27th in Slalom 2012 – first World Cup points, finishing 26th in Levi, Finland 2013 – first Europa Cup victory in Pozza, Italy 2016 – first World Cup top 10 finish, with sixth place in Levi, Finland 2017 – finishes second in Kitzbuehel World Cup, becoming only second British man to secure an Alpine World Cup podium after Konrad Bartelski 2017 – breaks top 10 in Slalom World Cup standings, finishing in eighth spot 2018 – secures two top 10 Olympic placings, with ninth in Slalom and fifth in Team Parallel in PyeongChang 2019 – records two World Championships top 10 finishes with ninth place in both Slalom and Team Parallel in Are. Places second in World Cup Parallel Slalom competition in Oslo and takes second place in Crans Montana night slalom. 2021 – third place in Adelboden World Cup marks third career World Cup podium, officially making Ryding Britain’s most successful ever Alpine World Cup racer 2022 – makes history as first British skier to win an Alpine World Cup race with victory in Kitzbuhel, and has a gondola dedicated to him. 2022 – named as one of Team GB’s two flagbearers for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing 2022 – moves from 19th to 2nd place in Garmisch race with second run charge and records second eighth place finish in Slalom World Cup standings 2023 – bookends year with sixth and seventh World Cup podiums, finishing second in Kitzbuehel in January and third in Madonna di Campiglio in December 2024 – ends season with best ever Slalom World Cup standings, coming in seventh place, for highest career ranking 2025 - finishes sixth in Saalbach World Championships, Britain’s best Men’s Alpine World Championships result since before the Second World War

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