Delancey British Alpine Team skier Dave Ryding had the race of his life yesterday to finish a career-best 6th place in the World Cup Slalom in Levi, Finland.
Lying in 4th place after the first run, Ryding looked impressive, and put in a solid second run to claim 6th overall, his first World Cup top 10 finish. Ryding’s result is the best result from a British Alpine skier since Alain Baxter took fourth in a Slalom World Cup in 2001. The first place podium spot was taken by Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, with team mate Michael Matt second, and Manfred Moelgg from Italy third.
Ryding said after the race: “I am delighted. I am sure no-one expected a Brit in the top six. I have been working really hard all summer and specifically working on my steep sections. I have been skiing well and performing in training, but this was better than I expected. I really had to focus before the second run, and I knew I had to give it full gas to stay near the top.
“I was aiming to get a solid top 15, so 6th is amazing. I couldn’t have done it without my coaches Tristan and Ali, and without the support of BSS and my sponsors. I am now going to take a break before the next World Cup in Val d’Isere in mid-December.”
In the women’s World Cup race on Saturday in Levi, Alex Tilley unfortunately skied out on the first run of the Slalom, meaning she didn’t get the chance at a second run. Tilley now heads over to the US where she will prepare for the next GS and Slalom World Cup in Killington.
Aimee Fuller (GBR) competes at the Big Air World Cup finals in Milan | photo: Mateusz Kielpinski (FIS)
There were also world-class performances from GB Park and Pipe snowboarders and skiers over the weekend at the Big Air World Cup in Milan. Aimee Fuller claimed the best finish of all the GB Park and Pipe riders, with an impressive 4th place in the Ladies Snowboard Big Air final on Saturday, a World Cup personal best. Katie Ormerod just missed out on finals, but finished 10th overall.
Fuller said after the event: “Today was great. I loved the atmosphere in the stadium and the jump was really good. It is my first scaffold jump and I am stoked with how I rode. To get fourth is a brilliant start to the season.”
In the men’s Snowboard competition, Billy Morgan threw down some impressive tricks and was mixing it up with the medal contenders. But after overshooting his third jump, he eventually finished in 7th, a solid start to the season. Rowan Coultas and Jamie Nicholls didn’t qualify for finals, and finished in 20th and 24th respectively.
In the Ski Big Air, GB Park & Pipe’s Katie Summerhayes and Madi Rowlands finished in 8th and 9th place respectively, in the first of three City Big Air ‘Super Series’. The next stops in the series are in Moenchengladbach, Germany and Quebec City.
