Chorley ski ace Dave Ryding pleased with consistency after securing top-10 spot at World Championships

The 32-year-old slalom specialist finished inside the top 10 in a combined time of two minutes 07.03 seconds in Are, Sweden.

Ryding’s hopes of his first medal at a major event were dashed after a poor opening run which saw him placed well down the leaderboard.

His time of one minute and 03.72 seconds resulted in him being placed in 16th spot overall.

Ryding certainly redeemed himself on the second run – finishing third quickest in a time of 1:03.31 to sneak into the top 10 of the worlds for the first time.

The overall winner was Austrian legend Marcel Hirscher, whose overall time of 2:05.86 was slightly quicker than his compatriots Michael Matt and Marco Schwarz.

“Definitely pleased to finish in the top 10 for the first time,” said Ryding. “It was just a shame the first run was not up to scratch.

“It was a very tough course. I just did not get any rhythm going on the course on the first go.

“But I managed to pull it back in the second run and finish inside the top 10.”

While disappointed not to finish higher up in the final list, Ryding has been pleased with his consistency at the top level in recent years.

He believes he is not too far away from a major breakthrough moment in his career.

Earlier this year he finished second at a World Cup meeting in Oslo – emulating his performance in Kitzbuhel, Austria, in 2017.

Ryding certainly feels that his peak years are still ahead of him with the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 the long-term goal.

“I definitely race to win — and I’m getting closer and closer to first place,” said Ryding, who hails from Bretherton and learned to ski on the dry ski slopes on Pendle Hill, in Lancashire.

“This season has been so far so good. I have been very consistent again.

“There are three more races to go and I have got one on Tuesday night.

“I am 32, so I think my peak years are still ahead of me.

“I am young and fresh. I’ve just got to keep pushing myself.”