Latest news with #DaveRyding
Independent Singapore
a day ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Alpine skier Dave 'The Rocket' Ryding to retire at the end of the 2026 season
Known as Britain's most successful alpine skier, Dave 'The Rocket' Ryding announced that he will retire from the sport after the 2025-2026 season at the age of 38. The upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be his fifth and final Games. The athlete made history in 2022 by becoming the first British skier to clinch a World Cup gold in slalom. Moreover, he successfully claimed Britain's best men's World Championship finish earlier this year by finishing in sixth place. Ryding told BBC Sport : 'I'm committed to doing one more year all in and seeing what we can achieve…Everything feels right now to draw a line after the Olympics while my body's good. I'm still at the top of the sport and still able to compete with the best, I still feel I can go all in.' He added, 'I sit here with no niggles, no pains in my body, which is really rare in skiing… I don't want the legs to fall off; it's not fun if the legs fall off mid-season. So while I still can, I'll do all I can to be the best in the world.' Ryding's athletic performance throughout the years Throughout his sporting career, Dave Ryding has reached the World Cup podium seven times. This includes his historic gold in the Kitzbuhel slalom. After this historical moment, Ryding admitted that he 'never stopped believing, never stopped trying,' and this simply shows how determined and resilient he is despite all the challenges. The athlete's first World Cup podium was in Kitzbuhel in 2017, where he won silver. His latest medal was in Madonna di Campiglio in December 2023, where he won bronze. Furthermore, his best Olympic result was placing ninth at the PyeongChang 2018. With the upcoming Games, he believes that he can do so much better, now that he will be cheered on by his daughter, Nina. For his final season, Ryding will prepare with his British teammates, Billy Major and Laurie Taylor, the athletes who will continue the British skiing legacy that he achieved. In a social media post made by GB Snowsport, Dave Ryding shared a message about his last season. The caption stated: 'If you'd have told me at 23 that I'd still be doing this at nearly 40, I don't think I'd have quite believed you. But here we are—and after 15 incredible years on the World Cup circuit, seven podiums, one victory, and the honour of flying the flag for Great Britain, I've decided this will be my last season on the slopes.' 'I've never lost the determination to be the best skier I can be, and I still feel that fire burning inside me. To my family, coaches, sponsors, federation, and every single fan who's ever cheered me on—thank you for always having my back. It's been the privilege of a lifetime. Let's make this final push one to remember. See you out there. ⛷️💙' Netizens showered Dave with admiration and support in the comments, calling him 'an absolute legend and inspiration ❤️❤️' and praising his career with messages like 'What a career and what a sportsman 💙' and 'A true inspiration for the rest of British skiing!' Ryding's sporting history Ryding didn't grow up skiing on snow, and first tried the sport at the age of six on a dry slope in Lancashire. He didn't receive proper training until he was 13, and he just kept on racing on dry slopes into his early twenties. He earned his first World Cup points by the age of 26 as he started late in the top level of skiing.
ITV News
a day ago
- Sport
- ITV News
'I've loved every second': Great Britain's most successful alpine ski racer Dave Ryding to retire
Great Britain's most successful alpine ski racer Dave Ryding, has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season. The 38-year-old from Chorley, Lancashire, is the most decorated British Slalom skier of all time and made history in January 2022 by becoming the first British alpine skier to win World Cup gold thanks to victory in the Kitzbuhel slalom. He hopes to compete at the fifth Winter Olympics of his career in February next year at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy. In a statement Dave said: '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." Ryding has been a regular on the World Cup circuit since 2009 and achieved seven podium places, including his landmark gold. The slalom specialist finished sixth in the 2025 Alpine World Championships – Britain's best men's result since 1934. 'It's been one hell of a journey, and I've loved every second of it,' he said. 'Now it's time to make this final season a special one.'
Leader Live
a day ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Great Britain's most successful alpine ski racer Dave Ryding to retire
The 38-year-old made history in January 2022 by becoming the first British alpine skier to win World Cup gold thanks to victory in the Kitzbuhel slalom. He hopes to compete at the fifth Winter Olympics of his career in February next year at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy. '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,' Ryding said in a statement. A post shared by Dave Ryding (@dave_ryding) '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.' Lancashire-born Ryding has been a regular on the World Cup circuit since 2009 and achieved seven podium places, including his landmark gold. The slalom specialist finished sixth in the 2025 Alpine World Championships – Britain's best men's result since 1934. 'It's been one hell of a journey, and I've loved every second of it,' he said. 'Now it's time to make this final season a special one.'
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Great Britain's most successful alpine ski racer Dave Ryding to retire
The 38-year-old made history in January 2022 by becoming the first British alpine skier to win World Cup gold thanks to victory in the Kitzbuhel slalom. He hopes to compete at the fifth Winter Olympics of his career in February next year at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy. '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,' Ryding said in a statement. A post shared by Dave Ryding (@dave_ryding) '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.' Lancashire-born Ryding has been a regular on the World Cup circuit since 2009 and achieved seven podium places, including his landmark gold. The slalom specialist finished sixth in the 2025 Alpine World Championships – Britain's best men's result since 1934. 'It's been one hell of a journey, and I've loved every second of it,' he said. 'Now it's time to make this final season a special one.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
‘More than I dreamed of': Britain's most decorated Alpine skier Dave Ryding reflects on a groundbreaking career
A stalwart of the Alpine skiing World Cup, it's strange to imagine the elite circuit without Dave Ryding. But at the end of the 2025-26 season, the veteran Englishman will hang up his skis. He'll be 39 then – although if the previous season is anything to go by, still able to teach his younger competitors a thing or two. 'It was quite a natural decision to make,' he tells The Independent, ahead of today's official announcement. 'It's just important that I'm still in a position to compete, because I've never done this sport for anything other than results, to prove myself, to achieve goals, to dedicate myself to something. I mean, I'm a ski racer, not a footballer – it could never be about finances! 'It was always about competing with the best, proving myself week in, week out, and showing the nation that it was possible, from the UK, to have a career in the top 15 like mine, going into its 10th year. No one's ever come close to doing that.' He notes that in recent years the sacrifices to be a professional athlete have only increased, with his wife and three-year-old daughter left at home over the winter. Ryding says, 'It's very much the right time – right to me and justifiable to my wife! It was nice to think, right, let's draw a line there and just go absolutely all in again, and then come the [Winter] Olympics, try and do my best ever performance.' Ryding credits his passion for the sport and 'never-wavering commitment' – as well as 'Northern grit' – as reasons behind his longevity: ten straight seasons on the World Cup, with his debut on the circuit in 2009. He adds that it takes a village to support a professional athlete, from coaches, to sponsors, to his family. 'A lot of the time you're in a dark place as an athlete, it's not all sunshine and roses. But to have those people behind you, particularly my wife, that's been one of the key things.' He took a different path to the sport than the likes of his Austrian and Swiss competitors, growing up racing on dry slopes, and only cracking the World Cup circuit at 28. He laughs at the memory of when he first started out, when he was ranked 18th out of 20 British skiers born in 1986. But his strong racing background served him well when he finally made the switch to snow. At the Kitzbuhel World Cup in 2017, when he led after the first run, he says, 'I had a flashback from the very first dry slope race. I had the same emotions going through my body of anxiety, pressures, excitement, as what I felt when I was 16, 17, years old on the dry slopes. 100% there's been an advantage of having so much competition in the UK.' That proved a memorable day for the 38-year-old: his first World Cup podium, a second place, with his tally now up to seven. That includes his historic win in Kitzbuhel five years later, when he became the first – and so far only – Briton to win an Alpine skiing World Cup. That win is, for obvious reasons, the highlight of his career. 'Not just because I won it, but it also showed the persistence [required], because I was the oldest-ever first time winner of any World Cup, oldest-ever winner of a slalom, never mind the first Brit. To tick that box was more than what I dreamed of as a kid. I just wanted to be in the top 30 so I could compete in second runs and be on television! Never did I imagine that I would be in a position to win.' A close second was his sixth-place finish at the World Championships this February, the best result for a British male skier since 1934. After an error in his ski set-up on the first run, Ryding – on adjusted skis – took the lead on his second. 'I was like, you know what, if this is the last World Champs, if this is the last time I have a green light [as the race leader], then I'm going to really enjoy it and savour it. I probably went over the top, dancing in the leader's enclosure! But I will remember that moment forever. It was one of my best days on snow.' Ryding will aim to approach his final season with the same attitude. He says, 'As an athlete, the blinkers are on and you're not looking at anything other than what you're doing. I hope that knowing that this is the last time, I will try and savour the moments everywhere I go.' The hunger and the drive to improve is still there. 'Last year, I really felt like I'd left something on the table with only having a ninth in a major event [his previous best at the World Championships]. I felt like that's not a true replication of my ability. I was really keen to better that, and that's the same sort of approach I will try to bring to this season.' Ryding doesn't yet have concrete plans for his life post-retirement; he and wife Mandy ran a cafe until daughter Nina was born, and a move into business could be on the cards, while he is likely to continue in his mentoring role for Tignes-based club Apex 2100. But for now, family comes first – 'until the moment comes my wife wants to kick me out of the house because I'm so annoying when I'm always at home!' he jokes. Ryding is enthusiastic about the future of Alpine skiing in Britain: alongside World Cup teammates Laurie Taylor and Billy Major, he says, there are plenty of younger athletes who could take the sport to greater heights. 'I'm listening to the next generation and the generation after that, because I'm so old and they're already coming through, they talk about podiums, about winning. It's something that was never spoken about when I was young,' he says. 'The biggest thing I've seen over the last 10 years is the sense of belief from the Brits that are coming through, and I think that will just open up more achievements. 'I remember banging my head against a brick wall trying to get that win. I really felt like it was there, I'd been winning halfway down second runs, three quarters down, and then made little mistakes, and I never got it done. But once I got that, smashed through that sort of ceiling, then I think it opened people's minds to like, 'this is actually achievable – and Dave came from a dry slope and was rubbish when he was 17!'' Ryding will forever have a place in the history books as Britain's first Alpine World Cup winner, although he hopes athletes to come can go 'above and beyond' his achievements. What Ryding would like to be remembered is the commitment that underpinned his career. 'I think if it shows younger kids the dedication it needs… no matter what you do in life, you can go out there and achieve it. Whether you're a journalist or a doctor or a lawyer, or a ski racer, the application to a task over a long period of time consistently, will allow you to achieve some things that you never thought possible,' he says.
