Britain's Dave Ryding has scored his best ever result and equalled Britain's best ever World Cup result by taking silver in the slalom World Cup race at the Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm competition in the Austrian Tirol today.
Ryding led after the first leg and held his nerve to stay ahead of most of the other competitors, but World Cup star Marcel Hirscher for Austria, who had been lying in 8th place a second behind Ryding after the first run, stormed his second descent and won by a third of a second.
Ryding, who now lies 8th in the World Cup and stood on his first World Cup podium today, commented after the first run,
"This is incredible, being in the lead here is a dream come true. I thought I'd had a solid run, but the fact I am leading came as a surprise."
It's the best result for British Alpine skiing in more than 35 years since Konrad Bartelski also took silver in the World Cup Downhill in Val Gardena in 1981.
Ryding started racing on a dry slope at Pendle Ski Club and is on a programe run and primarily funded by British Ski and Snowboard and principle sponsor Delancey. He also receives funding from personal sponsors.
Ryding said after the race: "It is an insane feeling. After the first run I knew I had skied it clean, but couldn't believe it when I crossed the finish line.
Between the runs I tried to keep my heart rate down and tried to forget I would be the last man down on the second run.
After the second run I just thought to myself 'I've done it!'. Hirscher skied so well, so coming second almost felt like a victory.
I have so much respect for all the British skiers winning World Cup points, but to have got this result is just amazing.
Although I knew Kitzbuehel would suit me I wasn't expecting a podium this season. But I am a consistent skier and I have been in the top 15 or 10 consistently this season so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
This result is for my supporters, family, girlfriend, sponsors and of course my coaches. They do the work of two men and they have made this possible.
Having a funded programme makes a huge difference and I hope this result will be a big boost for British skiing. With the changes made in British Skin and Snowboard in the last year, there is suddenly a confidence in British skiing that wasn't there before and we are definitely going in the right direction.
Now I am just going to stay focused and I don't want expectations to rise too much. I am just back to training ‪tomorrow with Schaldming on Tuesday."