David Ryding talks exclusively to Racer Ready in Zagreb.

This was the first race back for Ryding after the New Year break and having ended 2011 with two great results, a 13 and then a 10 point result, it was straight into the chat about the racing:

Racer Ready: Congratulations for the results in the Europa Cup.

David Ryding: Thank you very much.

RR: Do you feel that was just rewards for the training and racing that you have done this season?

DR: yes, I think so. It worked in my favour but you had to ski the conditions. I went from 40 to 26 on the first run with a mistake so it sort of worked in my favour to be in 26^th because I then had a good piste and then I skied into 7^th so it was all good.

RR: You said in Alta Badia that there were bits that were good and that there were bits you were not quite nailing but that the training was going well. Do you feel that that was a day where the tactics worked to your favour, do you feel now that you have made the step up both technically and mentally?

DR: I have definitely made a big step up this year again like I did at the end of last year. I still believe that I can do more, I am still working on certain aspects of my skiing: I have one good turn and one bad turn. If I can get two good turns then I can do something and ski a lot more consistently. My left turn does slow me down a lot at the moment as it is not as good as my right turn. This is something we are working on at the moment. If we can make this better then I can another step forward.

I had a bad piste on the first run in Madonna and then a good piste on the second run which is what the good guys have so you could say it was a fair and equal playing field and I finished seventh. I think this was quite good.

RR: And then Madonna was backed up with a 13 point result in San Vigil the day before!

DR: It was good. That was kind of the opposite as I had bib 28 there and I skied to 11^th in the first run which was good and then the piste was absolutely destroyed and I finished 12^th I think. There there were guys starting first and going into fourth but that is just one of those things.

RR: In the dual slalom there you were leading by half a gate …

DR: Yeah, I was leading at the top and made a little mistake in the middle and then quite a big mistake at the bottom. I threw it away really. I was a bit annoyed as I thought I had got it but yeah… It is not over till you cross the line and I got beaten.

RR: Was it just over one run?

DR: Yeah it was over one run and then the next round was over two runs. I was quite annoyed but it was really good fun.

RR: Have you raced here in Zagreb before?

DR: Yes, I have only ever done here and Alta Badia before. I have come back for another shot!

RR: What were your memories last time around?

DR: It was not great conditions either actually, which they will not be tomorrow either. It is a great atmosphere and the Croatians go absolutely mental. In the race the guy before me is Croatian, Natko Zrncic-Dim, so I am sure the crowd will still be there in their thousands because it is Natko! It should be good!

RR: Do you thrive on those conditions?

DR: We will see I guess! Normally yeah, you try to impress. You do not ski to get down, you ski to do as well as you can. If you make it down and you are skiing well you can make it in there. If you are just skiing down you are never going to make it in the thirty. You have just got to go hard.

RR: Do you feel that Zagreb is fast becoming one of the classic Slalom races?

DR: Yes I think it is just because of the sheer numbers of people that go up there to watch and the passion that they have for skiing just because of the Kostelic’s. Obviously you cannot beat Schladming for Atmosphere or anything but I have heard that this is close to it.

RR: Will you do Schladming this year?

DR: Maybe. It just depends on the programme. The focus is still on the Europa Cups. Until I have around ten points and then I will start around bib 50 – 55; that is when you can really attack a World Cup. Another result around ten will be ideal. Then I can not switch the focus to World Cup as I will keep doing both as I need to keep scoring points but if there is a World Cup and a Europa Cup on at the same time, I would do the World Cup. I will go to Meribel after this but I do not know when Schladming is to be honest. With Schladming the 24^th, there are a lot of Europa Cup’s around then.

RR: By doing the Europa Cups and not doing Wengen and Kitzbuehel, that will take out a lot of the top guys. Do you feel that is the plan?

DR: Yes, it sort of happened like that at Madonna. In Obereggen I started 73, Pozza I started 54 and then San Vigil I started 28 because nobody was there as Flachau was the same day. Then quite a few came back and I was bib 40 in Madonna. I should be top 30 now in the Europa Cups anyway.

RR: This is not bad for the boy from Pendle!

DR: That is why I was so annoyed for the dual slalom. Normally I rock in dual slalom from the days in Pendle and taking down Wycombe!

RR: It seems a long time ago, four five years ago, from racing on the plastic. Do you look back fondly at those days?

DR: That was a great time of my life. I met loads of people; I had such a good time. That was why I did it until I was 21. The last year that I did it I was on 16 points on snow as well as whatever I was on on dry slope. I did it because I loved it. I love racing and I loved the winning!

RR: Do you think that that was a good grounding for you?

DR: Yes for sure, especially for slalom as when I was young I did not do a lot on snow but I kept it going on dry slope. When a lot of people were not skiing on snow in the summer, I was still keeping it going on the dry slope, skiing twice a week at Pendle if not three times a week with racing. For slalom I have hit a hell of a lot of gates, whether it be on dry slope or snow. Obviously I am not used to the icy conditions as much as the Europeans are. This is something that I need to work on more. I would recommend dry slope to anyone. Obviously you do not need to do it until you are 21! A lot of the current GB team have done it and I wish more would do it.

RR: Talking of the rest of the team, at the moment it is you and Tristan Glasse Davies and the physio in the van. That is your team until Noel comes back. Will Noel be back this season?

DR: Yes. Noel should be back on the 9^th January. Noel has been in touch and we developed into a good team last year. Once I got my skiing sorted last year I was able to ski in a reasonably close proximity to Noelie. We pushed each other along and I have missed that this year. I have managed to keep it going and it will be good to get him back.

RR: Do you have much communication with the speed guys?

DR: We communicate on the Blackberry Messenger and I saw them just after Christmas but before Christmas I do not think that I saw them in December, we are on totally different programmes. We stay in touch a lot and I am really good friends with them all. Once I got on the team, I was with those guys most of the time so we are good friends.

RR: A lot of healthy rivalry?

DR: There was back in the days. There is not really rivalry anymore. If they score a good result you want to do it as well. It used to be we were all doing the same thing, the same programme and you were in the same races. It was always friendly rivalry. Now we all bounce off each other with results, if one does well we all want to do well. Because we are such a small team, we try and egg each other along. It seems to be working quite well.

RR: You have been training with the Austrians World Cup slalom team. Was that just a one off or do you do that quite regularly?

DR: It was more of a one off even though we did it twice in New Zealand in the summer. They were training in the same place and we had joined the ski club there. I was able to get in amongst the others coming along, I was quite lucky. Then in Moelltal because I was on my own, when they were sorting the pistes, Christian just said do you mind if one guy comes along and trains? They were really good about it and they are really friendly guys. They do not come across like that on TV but they are really nice guys.

RR: Did you learn much from just being in the same vicinity as them?

DR: Yes. In New Zealand I was quite taken aback by who I was standing next to. These were guys that I used to have on my bedroom wall! I must be doing OK if I am training with them, I was thinking!

RR: And then training with them in Moelltal?

DR: I was skiing really well in Moelltal and knew the piste as I had been there for like three weeks! I was trying to hold my own and I was so it was good!

RR: Do you think that the short bits of training with the good guys gives you a little push on?

DR: It shows you where you are at. It can be a wake up call. It can also be a case of I am a lot closer than I thought I would be.

RR: Who would you like to train with if you had the pick of the whole World Cup tour?

DR: Grange and Lizeroux without a shadow of doubt. I love the way they ski and I value those two as the best at the moment in the world. They are not really on form at the moment and Lizeroux is injured at the moment. Obviously Kostelic and Hirscher as well! I have trained with Hirscher already in Moelltal and New Zealand. He is an awesome skier.

RR: With 15,000 plus Croatians screaming for the racer in front of you. What goes through your mind as you go into the start as he is going down the course?

DR: Probably that sounds pretty cool but I have not had that before! I guess we shall see! I hope it will egg me on! I have raced Natko before, mainly when he has finished his world cup programme. It was quite close last year.

RR: Good luck in the race and take no prisoners!

DR Thank you.

Part 2 - Ryding talks skis!