Ski Holiday

Holy Cow! Dave Ryding Just Won the Kitzbühel Slalom

It's the first time a British skier has ever won gold at a World Cup ski race.

Fantastic.

Magnificent.

Almost unbelievable.

Today in Kitzbühel, Dave Ryding from Bretherton in Lancashire became the first-ever British skier to win a gold medal at a World Cup ski race.

Placed sixth after the first round of skiing in the slalom, he notched up a time of 1.41.26 on his second run. In difficult, snowy conditions, none of the following five racers could match it – and amidst scenes of joy and disbelief, he was declared the winner.

Here’s footage of his winning run.

No wonder he kissed the snow. It’s the first time in the 55 year history of the World Cup a Brit has ever taken first place. If I was in Kitzbühel, I’d be kissing the snow too.

What a joyful day.

“Do you think Queen Elizabeth is watching this?” asks Norway’s Lucas Braathen (who came second) in this Youtube clip. It was unlikely at the time. But chances are, she will now: as will every committed skier in the UK.

“I guess my name will be in history now,” Ryding said afterwards. You betcha, Dave.

Ryding’s result is actually not as unlikely as you might think: five years ago, in 2017, he came second in the same event, behind Austria’s Marcel Hirscher. Less than two weeks before the start of the Winter Olympics, his timing couldn’t be better.

About the author

Sean Newsom

As well as founding Welove2ski in June 2007, Sean has written about skiing and snowboarding in the British press for 28 years. For the last 20 of them, he’s also been the ski travel editor at The Sunday Times.

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