And when the snow storm came overnight, it came with a vengeance. From 6.30 in the morning the heavens opened leaving about ten centimetres of fresh snow on the course by the time the race started and this was doubled by the end of the first run. Underneath the fresh snow, hard, icy snow lay in wait for the racers but with the racing line in great conditions, the trick was to stay on the line. Stray off the track and your chances of making the second run were severely reduced.
Stefano Gross leads after the first run with Michael Matt, Andre Myhrer, Mattias Hargin and Henrik Kristoffersen making up the top five. Ryding was not alone in giving the course too much respect and while he was ahead of the pace set by Gross at the top across the middle section and down the final pitch, he lost a second to finish 1.01 behind and in 15th place.
“I never really got into the run,” Ryding admitted after the run. “It was really icy conditions, really icy. I could not get going at all. It was full ice all the way down. I just did not do the right at all.”
For Ryding, the expectation from ski racing public after Levi this year and Kitzbuehel last year, has grown immensely. It is now all about managing that expectation. With a best result of 12th in Val d’Isere, Ryding explained “it is only the second race of the season, so you never know. Levi was going really good but this place is tough. I have nothing to lose on the second run today, so I will be full gas for that.”
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VAL-D'ISERE, FRANCE - DECEMBER 10: Dave Ryding of Great Britain in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men's Slalom on December 10, 2017 in Val-d'Isere, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom)[/caption]
With a new sponsor on his helmet, the Austrian resort of Obergurgl, Ryding is focussed on challenging for the second run.
Ryding will start just after the TV break which will mean the track will have been given a clean up and it will be all guns blazing. Ryding knows that he can ski better and faster than the first run.
First run results