GB Slalom Racers Dazzle at Kitzbuehel

20th January 2024

Last modified on January 22nd, 2024

It has been an excellent day’s work for the three GB slalom racers.

Sadly no podiums, but one in the Top 5 in the world, one in the Top 15 and another in the Top 20 is no mean feat.

“The GB team is up there competing with the very best in the world and today marks a significant step on the development of the team as a whole,” said PlanetSKI’s James Cove as he followed the race.

“We are used to seeing Dave Ryding competing for a place on the podium, but the improvement of Billy Major and Laurie Taylor is exciting to watch and has given a glimpse of what the future of GB slalom racing may hold.”

Dave Ryding has had three podium positions in Kitzbühel in recent years.

Wearing bib number 12, Ryding put in a good first run and was in joint 10th place with Billy Major going into the second run.

Billy put in one of the great runs of his career starting with bib 33, and Laurie Taylor made the grade for the second run in 29th position.

He was wearing bib 46.

“Make no mistake, these are very exciting times for British slalom ski racing and we should all cherish every race, and the position the GB team is in despite a distinct lack of official funding,” added James Cove.

It came as there was success elsewhere for GB ski racing which bodes well for the future.

16-year old Zak Carrick-Smith won the men’s combined race at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games in South Korea.

• GB Wins First Ever Gold at Olympic Ski Race

3 in 🔝 30 after 1st run🥵

Kitzbuehel Men’s Slalom brought the heat! 🔥

Dave Ryding and Billy Major, inseparable on 10th place with identical times. Great run by Laurie Taylor, starting with bib 47, landing a solid 29th after the 1st run. 💪

2nd run starts 12:30 PM GMT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6ptWVcQyTx

— GB Snowsport (@GBSnowsport) January 21, 2024

Ryding’s second run put him at the top of the leader-board for a while and his time was the second fastest second run of any skier on the course.

Billy Major put in the 10th best time on his first run and Laure Taylor put in the 7th best time on his second run.

There is real cause for celebration for GB slalom fans.

See the full details on the FIS website.

Sadly there was little coverage of the achievements on BBC Ski Sunday.

Instead it stuck to its pre-planned coverage of the Men’s Downhill from Kitzbühel and features from the snowboard Laax Open 2024.

There was a brief mention of the slalom success towards the end of the programme.

Dave also posted on Instagram highlighting the lack of official funding for the team:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dave Ryding (@dave_ryding)

Here is just some of the reaction from our readers over on the PlanetSKI Facebook page:

Mark Cocker – Good results folks. Some useful World Cup points and even more useful learning.

Think what we could achieve if we were funded even as much as the Norwegian team. Need to find a British billionaire with a passion for skiing.

Sarah Jane Villarreal – What a day! What results! So happy! Well done to all three.

The Austrian resort of Kitzbühel is a very happy hunting ground for Dave Ryding.

The Rocket clinched GB’s best ever result in a World Cup race in 2022 as he took first place and secured his place in the sporting history books.

• It’s World Cup victory for Dave Ryding

Dave Ryding wins the Kitzbühel Hahnenkamm slalom, January 2022. Image © Juergen Klecha

Today’s race had been eagerly anticipated.

Ryding has had a good start to this season.

He was 4^th in the opening race in his ‘home’ resort of Gurgl, in the Tirol in Austria.

It followed one of his famous second run charges where he shot up the leaderboard from 15^th spot.

His combined time over the two runs was just 100^th of a second off a podium place.

• The Rocket Rocks!

The Rocket followed that up with a brilliant 3^rd in the night slalom in Madonna di Campiglio in the Italian Dolomites.

It was his 7^th World Cup podium.

• Dave Ryding on the Podium Again

He was 12th last weekend in Wengen, Switzerland describing it as a ‘rock solid’ position.

Three days after Sunday’s race in Kitzbühel there’s the Schladming night slalom.

PlanetSKI’s Jane Peel will be among the tens of thousands of spectators in the Austrian resort to experience the event.

If you want to know just how special the atmosphere is, have a read of this article by the PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, who was there in 2020.

• Schladming Excels with Ryding in Top Ten

Remaining Men’s Slalom World Cups:

• 24 January – Schladming
• 4 February – Chamonix
• 11 February – Bansko
• 25 February – Palisades Tahoe
• 3 March  – Aspen
• 10 March – Kranjska Gora
• 16 March – Saalbach (WC Finals)

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• The Dave Ryding Interview
• The Dave Ryding Story