Dave Ryding confirms he will retire at end of 25/26 winter season
Dave Ryding confirms he will retire at end of 25/26 winter season
Published : 12-Jun-2025 07:10
Dave Ryding, the only British skier to win an Alpine World Cup race, has confirmed today his intention to retire at the end of the 2025/26 season.
The 38-year-old, a regular on the World Cup circuit since 2009, made the announcement today ahead of a season which will see Ryding push for a fifth Olympic Winter Games appearance in Milan-Cortina in February.
Having established himself as one of Britain's finest winter sport athletes over the course of his career, Ryding made history in January 2022 with victory at the Kitzbuehel Slalom World Cup.
That is one of seven career World Cup podiums to date, and he remains one of only four British Alpine skiers to record career World Cup podiums following Gina Hawthorn (1967), Divina Galica (1968) and Konrad Bartelski (1981).
Ryding also boasts three World Championships top 10 finishes including a sixth place in the 2025 World Championships - Britain's best Men's Alpine World Championships result since 1934 - and two Olympic top 10 finishes including 9th at the 2018 PyeongChang Games in the Slalom.
Ryding's 2024/25 season saw him record three World Cup top-10 finishes in Gurgl, Val d'Isere and Alta Badia alongside his 6th at the World Championships.
"Representing my country has been the privilege of a lifetime. I've always said that I'd only carry on for as long as I think I can perform to my best level, and making this decision now frees me up to give one last push to try and go one step further over the next season."
"I'm so grateful for all the support I've received along throughout my career, from fans, teammates, sponsors, media, and everyone who's helped me live out my dream over the past fifteen years.
"I hope that I've showed other Brits that you can start out on the dry slopes, work hard, and make it to the top."
You can listen to Dave talking about his career in Episode 199 of The Ski Podcast.
Dave Ryding Career Highlights
• 2009 – World Cup debut in Alta Badia, Italy
• 2009 – makes World Championships debut, finishing 41st in Giant Slalom in Val d'Isere
• 2010 – competes at first career Olympic Winter Games in Whistler, Canada, finishing 47th in Giant Slalom and 27th in Slalom
• 2012 – first World Cup points, finishing 26th in Levi, Finland
• 2013 – first Europa Cup victory in Pozza, Italy
• 2016 – first World Cup top 10 finish, with sixth place in Levi, Finland
• 2017 – finishes second in Kitzbuehel World Cup, becoming only second British man to secure an Alpine World Cup podium after Konrad Bartelski
• 2017 – breaks top 10 in Slalom World Cup standings, finishing in eighth spot
• 2018 – secures two top 10 Olympic placings, with ninth in Slalom and fifth in Team Parallel in PyeongChang
• 2019 – records two World Championships top 10 finishes with ninth place in both Slalom and Team Parallel in Are
• 2021 – third place in Adelboden World Cup marks third career World Cup podium, officially making Ryding Britain's most successful ever Alpine World Cup racer
• 2022 – makes history as first British skier to win an Alpine World Cup race with victory in Kitzbuehel
• 2022 – named as one of Team GB's two flagbearers for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing
• 2022 – records second eighth place finish in Slalom World Cup standings
• 2023 – bookends year with sixth and seventh World Cup podiums, finishing second in Kitzbuehel in January and third in Madonna di Campiglio in December
• 2024 – ends season with best ever Slalom World Cup standings, coming in seventh place, for highest career ranking
• 2025 - finishes sixth in Saalbach World Championships, Britain's best Men's Alpine World Championships result since before the Second World War
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