To date, Ryding has achieved seven World Cup podium finishes, capped by his historic gold in the Kitzbuhel slalom.
In the aftermath of that race, Ryding said he had “never stopped believing, never stopped trying” – encapsulating his “Northern grit” and determination to rise to the top of the sport, despite the odds being stacked against him.
Unlike most of his global peers, Ryding was not brought up on snow.
His first experience of skiing came as a six-year-old on a plastic dry slope in Pendle, Lancashire, while he did little training on snow until he was 13. He continued to race on the dry into his early twenties.
He had a late breakthrough to the top circuit of the sport, earning his first World Cup points just a few weeks shy of his 26th birthday and not adding any more until two years later.
It was in Kitzbuhel, Austria, that he stood on a World Cup podium for the first time with silver in 2017, while his most recent medal, a bronze, came in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, in December 2023.
His best finish at the Olympics is ninth at Pyeongchang 2018, but Ryding feels he has “left something on the table” at the Games, where he will be watched by his nearly three-year-old daughter, Nina.
“I think ninth is not a true reflection of my ability,” he said.
For one last season, Ryding will train with British team-mates Billy Major, 28, and Laurie Taylor, 29. They have big boots to fill, but follow tracks that have taken British skiing to a whole new level.
“Hearing kids openly and talk normally about World Cup podiums, it almost makes me laugh, because this is nuts,” said Ryding.
“I don’t necessarily go to a race thinking of podiums, but the next generation are certainly thinking that.
“The belief that I’ve given to the next generation, I absolutely see it, and I’m really excited to see what that becomes for the next 20 years.”
