Dave Ryding: 13th-place slalom finish in Beijing ‘a shame - but I’ll keep trying to pave the way for British skiing’

Updated 16/02/2022 at 10:03 GMT

Dave Ryding hopes the attention he has received since winning the World Cup slalom event in Kitzbuhel can pave the way for future Team GB success in Alpine skiing. The 35-year-old finished 13th in the slalom at the Winter Olympics, and was left frustrated by a lack of consistency at Beijing 2022 as Clement Noel took home the gold for France.

'I wasn't on my A-game - it's a shame' - GB's Ryding frustrated with Beijing performance

Dave Ryding admits his 13th-place finish in the slalom was a “shame” but hopes his recent heroics have helped pave the way for future success for Team GB in alpine skiing.

‘The Rocket’ was a medal hope heading into the Winter Olympics having taken a stunning World Cup win in the slalom at Kitzbuhel last month.

The 35-year-old was competing at his fourth Games, but a costly first run saw him slip out of contention going into Run 2.

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The Briton was able to improve his standing from 16th to 13th, but it was a case of what might have been for Ryding, who was left frustrated by a lack of consistency.

Ryding said afterwards: “I didn’t have my ‘A game’, I don’t know why. I never felt myself for some reason, some days you have those days, and I’ll try again next race.

“Normally I’m very consistent but this year I’m very inconsistent. I don’t know what it is. I think it’s because slalom is so tight. You have to be so good every time. When I’m good I’m good, but when I’m not quite there I’m not in the top 10.

“It’s a shame, but worse things happen at sea.”

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Asked how it has been since his World Cup win, Ryding replied: “Yeah, nuts. I still go home winner of Kitzbuhel, I never thought I’d say that. I can’t get too greedy. You always want to do better but I’m more than happy with what I’ve been doing – I’ll keep trying."

Ryding admitted the attention going into the Olympics was “too much” but added that the exposure was overall a positive for alpine skiing in the UK.

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He added: “Probably a little too much, so I couldn’t just relax… But no, it’s good. It’s good for our sport, we’re not the biggest sport in the UK, but the more we can get it on the TV and in the papers the better. I will keep trying to do that before I say it’s over to you young boys.”

Ryding was 1.21 seconds behind leader Johannes Strolz going into the second run and was placed 16th overall.

He went on to post a combined time of 1:45.57 after a second run of 50.44 to finish 13th in the standings, 1.48 seconds slower than that of champion Clement Noel.

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