British skiers have had a busy start to 2018 with Alpine, Cross Country and Freestyle athletes in action across Europe and North America.
And after a strong end to 2017, the new year also kicked off with top 10 results for two of Britain’s best.
FIS Alpine World Cups – Wednesday 3 to Sunday 7 January
Wednesday 3 & Thursday 4 January – Zagreb CRO – Ladies & Men’s Slalom
Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 January – Kranjska Gora SLO – Ladies’ Slalom & Giant Slalom
Sunday 7 January – Adelboden SUI – Men’s Slalom
Dave Ryding started 2018 with a New Year’s Day fourth place at the City Event in Oslo and continued that form later in the week with another top 10 performance in Croatia.
Ryding was 18th after the first run in Zagreb on Thursday, but sent down the fifth-fastest second run to move into seventh. It was his third top 10 in the space of two weeks and matched his 2017 result for his best performance in the Croatian capital.
He then lined up for his third World Cup in the space of a week yesterday in Adelboden. Ryding was equal tenth after the first run but couldn’t hold on to a fourth top 10 in a row, slipping to equal 12th. In six World Cup appearances in Adelboden, this was Ryding’s best result, improving on his 15th place last year.
Alex Tilley was also in action during the week at World Cups in Croatia and Slovenia. On Wednesday she was unable to complete her first run of the Slalom in Zagreb and quickly set her sights on the weekend in Kranjska Gora.
Saturday’s Giant Slalom saw Tilley earn the final place in the top 30 and gain a second run, rising to finish 28th overall. She failed to progress to the second run in Sunday’s Slalom, finishing around half a second outside the top 30.
FIS Cross Country World Cup – Saturday 30 December to Monday 7 January
Tour de Ski Stage 5: Thursday 4 January – Oberstdorf GER
Tour de Ski Stages 6-7: Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 January – Val di Fiemme ITA
Andrew Musgrave has achieved his best-ever Tour de Ski result, finishing 15th overall after a gruelling week of racing in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
The Tour was reduced to six legs earlier in the week following the cancellation of the Stage 4 Sprint due to extreme weather conditions.
The extra day of rest proved a blessing for Musgrave who had his best result of the Tour in Thursday’s 15km Free mass start. Always in the leading group, Musgrave took time bonuses in the first two sprints and stayed at the front throughout the race to finish sixth.
Musgrave finished 27th in Saturday’s 15km Classic mass start which meant he started Sunday’s 9km pursuit in 15th. He maintained his position up the painful climb to ultimately finish the tour in 15th, his best-ever result in the week-long event.
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cups – Saturday 6 January
Moscow RUS – Men’s Aerials
Calgary CAN – Ladies’ and Men’s Moguls
Aerial skier Lloyd Wallace was in action in his third World Cup of the season in Russia where he finished in 23rd position. His performance matches his ranking from Moscow last year but failed to improve on his 19th place in China last month.
In Canada, Max Willis missed out on the final but put in a career-best performance to finish 21st in the World Cup Moguls competition in Calgary. Willis earned his first top 25 result only last month and was agonisingly close to qualifying for his first final, with less than three points separating him from a place in the top 16.
Thomas Gerken Schofield also scored the best result from his four World Cup starts, finishing in 35th, while younger sister Makayla was 41st in the ladies event.
Both the Aerials and Moguls skiers now head to the United States for World Cup events in Deer Valley later this week.
