There are days when everything clicks and there are days when it just does not work for you. Val d’Isere has seen Dave Ryding take a best result of 12th place in 2015 with a 17th in 2016. 2017 saw Ryding have one of the days that you just forget and move on from. The first run saw him finish in 15th and he admitted that he had not got into the run the way he would have liked. In the finish after the second run, Ryding did not feel that he had skied well as he dropped from 15th to eighth in the finish before ending up in 19th spot.
It is all about managing the expectation for Ryding now. The International press are praising his prowess and some even tipping him as the fastest skier on the slalom tour. 19th spot does not make him the fastest on the hill and it is all a learning curve. Now 31, Ryding is still learning how to manage the expectation not just from a success hungry British ski racing public but also now from the International media. The demands of press interviews after each run have grown exponentially with his success.
Marcel Hirscher took the race win as the snow fell all throughout the race. From 06.30, for the next seven hours, the course crew made the run as clear of fresh snow as they could. Under the fresh snow was ice yet as soon as a racer deviated just slightly off the line, time was lost.
Val d’Isere was the location for Hirscher to win his first World Cup Slalom and after being in eighth after the first run, Hirscher produced a no holds barred second run that saw him take the lead and then withstand the onslaught from the remaining racers. Henrik Kristoffersen took second with Andre Myhrer in third. Michael Matt, second after the first run, in fourth just ahead of Jonathan Nordbotten from Norway with first run leader, Italy’s Stefano Gross taking sixth.
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VAL-D'ISERE, FRANCE - DECEMBER 10: Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway takes 2nd place, Marcel Hirscher of Austria takes 1st place, Andre Myhrer of Sweden takes 3rd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Slalom on December 10, 2017 in Val-d'Isere, France. (Photo by Michel Cottin/Agence Zoom)[/caption]
Ryding will now move on to the Madonna di Campiglio Slalom on December 22. After two races that have not gone the way he would have liked, Ryding will be keen to get back to the form he knows he is capable of. The trick now is for his back up team to help build the confidence before then.
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