Three days before Christmas, Delancey British Alpine skier Dave Ryding claimed his first top 10 of the season and on day one of the new year he scored another at the inaugural City Event in Oslo.
Ryding’s fourth place came two days after Andrew Young achieved a top 10 at the Tour de Ski while Andrew Musgrave sits in the top 30 with four stages remaining.
The action doesn’t let up this week with British skiers in World Cup action in Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Russia and Canada.
FIS Alpine World Cup – Monday 1 January – Oslo NOR
Dave Ryding missed the podium by an agonising 0.1sec at the City Event in Oslo, however the result was another sign that his season is pointing in the right direction.
Ryding was sixth in the Slalom at Madonna di Campiglio on 22 December and then 10 days later improved that to fourth in Oslo, a result only bettered at World Cup level by his second-place at Kitzbuhel last year.
In the first round, Ryding led Russian Alexander Khiroshilov through the first run and extended that lead to set up a mouth-watering showdown with world number one, Marcel Hirscher.
There was virtually nothing between the athletes in the first run of the quarter-final, however Ryding beat the Austrian down the course by the narrowest of margins (0.01sec). The pair were evenly matched down the second run too, however Ryding again came out on top, scoring the win by 0.09sec.
That victory set up a semi-final with another Austrian, Michael Matt. Ryding was having a strong first run before crashing out heavily giving him the maximum deficit of half a second. While he dusted himself off and made up significant ground, Ryding finished 0.15sec behind and progressed into the small final.
A small hesitation at the start cost Ryding in the first run of the small final, with German Linus Strasser taking a 0.28sec lead into the second run. Ryding closed the margin to a tenth of a second in the race for third, but had to settle for fourth.
It was the first of three World Cup events this week for Ryding who now heads to Zagreb before another race in Adelboden this weekend.
FIS Cross Country World Cup / Tour de Ski – Saturday 30 December to Monday 7 January
Stages 1-3: Saturday 30 December to Monday 1 January – Lenzerheide SUI
Stages 4-5: Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 January – Oberstdorf GER
Stages 6-7: Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 January – Val di Fiemme ITA
Andrew Young powered to his best result of the season on day one of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, finishing 10th in the Sprint event for his first World Cup top 10 in almost two years.
Young was 14th in qualifying, reaching the quarter-finals where he was paired with teammate Andrew Musgrave (16th). While Musgrave was near the front of the six-man heat throughout, it was Young who came through in the final 200m to reach the semis.
Unfortunately the 27-year-old was unable to progress through to the final, but ultimately finished 10th while Musgrave was 21st overall. Young departed the Tour after the stage and will return to the World Cup circuit in Dresden later this month.
Musgrave continued into the 15km Classic event on Sunday, finishing 30th to carry a ranking of 26th into the third stage.
On Monday, Musgrave moved up two places into 24th in the 15km Free Pursuit.
The Tour de Ski shifts to Germany tomorrow with the Sprint on Wednesday followed by a 15km Free mass start on Thursday. The final two stages of the tour will be in Val di Fiemme starting with a 15km Classic mass start on Saturday and a 9km Free Pursuit on Sunday.
FIS Alpine World Cups – Wednesday 3 January to Sunday 7 January
Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 January – Zagreb CRO – Ladies’ and Men’s Slalom
Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 January – Kranjska Gora SLO – Ladies’ Giant Slalom and Slalom
Sunday 7 January – Adelboden SUI – Men’s Slalom
The Alpine World Cup circuit is in full swing and a number of Delancey British Alpine Team skiers will be in action over the coming days.
Coming off two top 10 results in the space of 10 days, slalom specialist Dave Ryding heads to Zagreb where he will be in action on Thursday. Ryding will feature alongside Europa Cup team member Laurie Taylor who is competing in just his fourth ever World Cup event.
Alex Tilley, who finished 2017 with some strong results, will also be in Zagreb, competing in the Ladies’ Slalom tomorrow. She then heads to Slovenia where she will compete in the Giant Slalom and Slalom at Kranjska Gora alongside Charlie Guest.
Then on Sunday, Ryding will race his third World Cup in the space of seven days, this time in Switzerland. Last year Ryding finished 15th in Adelboden but did have the seventh-fastest second run which bodes well as he aims for another top ten performance.
FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cups – Saturday 6 January
Moscow RUS – Men’s Aerials
Calgary CAN – Ladies’ and Men’s Moguls
After a short break over the holiday period, the Aerials and Moguls skiers are back in World Cup action this weekend.
Lloyd Wallace will be in Russia for the Men’s Aerials night event on Saturday, coming off a top 20 result in China before Christmas. Wallace has competed at World Cups in Moscow twice before, with his best result being 16th in February 2016.
The Moguls World Cup moves to Calgary on Saturday and the British team has three skiers competing.
Makayla Gerken-Schofield made her World Cup debut in December and has a career-best result of 32nd from three events. Her brother Thomas will be competing alongside Max Willis in the men’s event. After almost three years off the World Cup circuit, Willis has the best British performance so far this season with 25th at Ruka in December.
