• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ryding crosses another bridge on his progression up the ranks

This was a brutal course and the warm and overcast weather made it even more brutal. It took eleven racers before some one posted a time faster than the guys that had gone before them. At the end of the run, the highest ranked racer to make the cut was number 36 and the longer the race went on, the more cut up and bumpy the course was getting. Starting number 71, Dave Ryding knew as he waited his turn that it would not be easy. “This is the World Cup,” he had commented the night before, “this is where I want to be.”

The secret for getting a good time would be to stay in the groove that had been carved out. From the moment that he left the start Ryding felt he was not getting in the groove and as a result “was losing time,” he admitted. Since he made his debut on the world cup two years ago, Ryding has grown, got stronger and improved as a ski racer, this was evident on his run. “I gave it loads and attacked at the top,” he explained at the finish. “I made a few mistakes coming down the middle,” he continued.

By the time that he made the final pitch, the death knell for so many runners before him, he looked tired. This was understandable as the light was going, the spot lights were on but with every turn Ryding was having to attack, absorb the breaking snow conditions and react to the situation. This was still a ballsy run and he was giving it a go. Ryding took his time coming through to the mixed zone and you could see him reliving the run and watching how the runners after him were coping. None after him were able to better his time.

This was the first time that he had made the finish in a World Cup race; this is another hurdle to over come. Ryding may not have made the second run, 56^th spot and some 6.58 seconds off the pace of first run leader Marcel Hirscher but Rome was not built in a day. “I want to do better and I can do better,” Ryding countered the comments with. This is a great statement of his intend to go far in this field.

It is unlikely he will race in Adelboden this weekend as he will be chasing the Europa Cup tour in France and searching for sub 10 point results. He will start in the top 30 on the second tier tour and with many of the better racers in Adelboden, the opportunity to match the Madonna result (10.51 FIS points) is there. With the qualifiers for the second run coming from early starters, getting a good result is vital in making the next step: qualifying for the second run.

With Noel Baxter due back on the team next week competition for the start spot will be there and that can only be good news.