Dave Ryding

Photo Credit: Mattias Garcia on Flickr

Dave Ryding made Britain proud when he became the first British winner in the 55-year history of the Alpine skiing World Cup. The 35-year-old won in one of the classic slaloms of the men’s circuit.

“I guess my name will be in history now,” said the English World Cup alpine ski racer. “I had so much emotion when I finished, now I just don’t know what to say. I’m normally not lost for words but now I am,” said Ryding who came in at sixth place after the opening run and managed to take the lead on the circuits challenging course.

His coach, Tristan Glasse-Davies, and ski technician, Jai Geyer, cheered from the coaches’ area. “It means everything, it’s incredible. No one deserves it more than Dave,” said Geyer. “He is a solid, intelligent skier. It means so much to British skiing. Dave, winning against the odds, it’s incredible.”

Ryding’s victory occured five years after he earned his first career World Cup podium. He had two more podium results and the most recent was at Adelboden, before achieving his maiden win.

The win crowns a remarkable career for Ryding, who learned to ski on dry slopes and only skied on snow for the first time at the age of 12.