‘Shattered’ golden boy gives party a swerve
RYDING EYES OLYMPIC GLORY
DAVE RYDING was too tired to party after skiing to Britain’s first gold medal in the history of the Alpine World Cup.
Less than a fortnight before the Winter Olympics, Ryding pocketed £84,000 at Kitzbuhel for winning the biggest event on the slalom calendar.
It should have sparked wild celebrations from a Lancastrian who learned to ski on a dry slope and simply refers to himself in his social media biog as ‘British disco dancer’. But the emotion at the foot of the Ganslernhang slope proved too much for the 35-year old, the oldest ever winner of a men’s World Cup slalom.
“I’m too old for a big celebration, I’m absolutely shattered!” he said. “So, no, I won’t be changing my biog to World Cup winner. Old Fart, more like.”
Perhaps, but the guy who grew up imagining himself as a geography teacher now heads to Beijing as one of the favourites for Olympic gold.
No Briton has won an Olympic medal in downhill or slalom. Alain Baxter took slalom bronze in 2002 at Salt Lake City but lost it after testing positive for a banned substance, said to be from a US inhaler with different chemicals to the UK.
Ryding said: “You win a World Cup a few weeks before the Olympics and it’s natural for everyone to talk.
“Obviously the pressure and expectation will have ramped up but my rivals now know I am a threat.
“Whatever happens, I go home with a World Cup victory – I have achieved the first win for Great Britain ever. That can never be taken away from me.”
Sixth after his first run in Austria on Saturday, Ryding produced a stunning second descent as snow fell heavily on the Austrian mountain. His combined time of 1min 41.26secs brought him victory by 0.38secs.
“There’s life in the old dog yet,” he said. “China is still a long way away but I’ll do my best to keep this old rig in tip-top shape.”
Crossing the line he looked up, saw his name in top spot ahead of Norwegian duo Lucas Braathen and Henrik Kristoffersen and screamed: “Come on.”
Trainer Jai Geyer sank to his knees in the snow and sobbed: “He did it! He did it!”
Ryding, Britain’s team captain at what will be his fourth Olympics, added: “I didn’t stop believing. I didn’t stop trying.”