It has been some time coming but the Europa Cup Slalom Champion bettered his best result in a FIS race in winning a FIS Slalom in Rogla on Saturday 23rd March. From the moment that he was given bib number 1, it was, according to his coach Tristan Glasse Davies, "all over for the rest." Ryding has been knocking on the door of a low nine point result all season and this is just deserts for the hard work that he has put in. This result can hot on the heals of two second place results in Zagreb, in the National Championship Slalom for Croatia, Ryding posted a time faster than Ivica Kostelic, the ueber-hero of Croatian ski racing.
Rogla is fast becoming a favourite venue for Ryding: he won there in 2o12 and was in confident form coming into the race again this year. The slope is flat and this is Ryding's forte in terms of where he manages to create speed. Ryding has spent much of this season improving other terrains but the flat is still his piece de resistance.
Since finishing seventh in the Austrian National Slalom in Pitztal on the 20th, Ryding has been a constant visitor on the podium in the races that he has done. The win in Rogla being the pick of the results with a win as well as the fantastic nine point result. This result will lift him further up the World rankings and thus help him in the start list at the World Cup.
With the British Championship Slalom on the horizon, this will be the first time that his fellow British racers will have seen the Europa Cup Champion since he won the title.
David Ryding's FIS page