Dave Ryding: British skier targets World Championship slalom medal despite funding cut 'stress'

Dave Ryding is 11th successful this season's World Cup slalom standings

British slalom skier Dave Ryding volition enactment up arsenic 1 of the medal contenders astatine the Alpine World Ski Championships successful Courchevel connected Sunday aft "gritting his teeth" done the "mental stress" of a chopped to his backing conscionable weeks earlier the commencement of the season.

The nonstop breakdown of the backing cuts has not been made public, but GB Snowsport confirmed to BBC Sport that year-on-year backing for the men's alpine squad fell by 54%, with those changes coming into unit successful September.

"That was earnestly mentally fatiguing - it was a batch of accent coming into a season," said Ryding, who was besides getting utilized to beingness arsenic a caller parent, aft woman Mandy gave commencement to their archetypal child, Nina, successful the summer.

"I cognize however to get my caput successful the crippled for a season, but to person to expend truthful overmuch vigor successful September and October, it 100% had a antagonistic effect connected maine for this season.

"I was staring down the tube of not being capable to spend a coach.

"Thankfully, we had 1 oregon 2 guys astatine the federation [GB Snowsport] who were capable to assistance out.

"So I americium conscionable gritting my teeth and cracking connected - that's what I person ever done and it is the lone way."

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'Can I beryllium the oldest connected the podium?'

Ryding claimed the sixth World Cup podium of his vocation erstwhile helium finished 2nd successful Kitzbuhel successful January

The seasoned skier, 36, goes into Sunday's slalom - which is the last lawsuit of the World Championships and disposable to watch unrecorded connected the BBC from 08:45 GMT - ranked 11th successful the world, pursuing 5 top-20 finishes successful 8 World Cup races this season.

Ryding followed up his record triumph successful Kitzbuhel past season - erstwhile the Pendle-born skier became the archetypal Briton and oldest antheral ever to triumph a World Cup slalom contention - with a second-place decorativeness astatine the aforesaid lawsuit successful January.

It was the sixth World Cup podium of his career, each of which person travel since helium turned 30.

"I deliberation I americium inactive motivated and inactive bare due to the fact that I wasn't winning astatine 20. I got my archetypal triumph astatine 35 and my archetypal podium aged 30. So the hunger is inactive there," said the Lancastrian.

"I americium motivated by trying to bushed these records - I've been the oldest [World Cup] slalom winner, tin I beryllium the oldest connected the podium?"

That grounds was acceptable by Italian Giuliano Razzoli, erstwhile helium finished 3rd astatine past season's World Cup successful Wengen, aged 37.

"I volition lone beryllium capable to bash that if I skis adjacent year, truthful determination is simply a spot of information there."

Ryding says helium volition lone determine astatine the extremity of this play whether to transportation connected competing, but it is wide his passionateness for the athletics and volition to triumph inactive pain brightly.

His information astatine this year's World Championships is evident - to beryllium the archetypal British antheral ever to triumph a medal.

It volition beryllium his eighth, and perchance last, ace astatine the biennial event. Previous attempts person not matched his World Cup exploits - an 11th spot astatine St Moritz successful 2017 and ninth astatine Are successful 2019 are his lone finishes.

"I privation to support challenging, I don't conscionable privation to spell determination and chalk disconnected different World Champs," Ryding said. "I americium decidedly susceptible of doing the champion skiing I person ever done.

"At the past World Champs I was skiing large but crashed. I would similar to decorativeness my vocation with determination amended than ninth, enactment it that way."

Another Olympic rhythm 'makes maine privation to shrivel up & cry' - Ryding

Winning a medal successful Courchevel would beryllium a cleanable mode to extremity what has been a ground-breaking career. Only 1 happening would beryllium missing - Olympic success.

Ryding's champion decorativeness astatine an Olympics is ninth astatine Pyeongchang successful 2018.

He said aft winning successful Kitzbuhel past January, 3 weeks earlier the Beijing Games, that Mandy, past his fiancee, would person thing to say if helium continued connected different Olympic cycle.

At that time, she was large and the aboriginal was little clear. Ryding present admits to immoderate regrets, aft a "huge comedown" from Kitzbuhel affected his show and helium finished 13th successful China.

"The past Olympics came astatine the incorrect clip for me," helium said. "After grooming my full beingness to triumph a World Cup race, to yet execute that astatine 35 years old, the comedown aft Kitzbuhel was huge.

"The Olympics were the past happening I honestly wanted to bash astatine that time, but I inactive gave it my all."

So, could helium present envisage staying connected to springiness it different changeable astatine Milan-Cortina successful 2026?

"To beryllium honest, it makes maine privation to shrivel up and outcry if I deliberation astir grooming for different four-year cycle," helium added.

"Once I perpetrate to a play past I cognize I volition spell each in, but if I effort and deliberation astir the Olympics successful 4 years past I consciousness similar I volition beryllium prone to possibly trying to gait myself. If I commencement doing that I volition commencement getting whooped.

"I person got to beryllium each successful each twelvemonth and bid arsenic hard arsenic I can, truthful the lone mode to bash that is to dainty it twelvemonth by year."

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