Dave Ryding on life after competitive skiing
Do you have any regrets?
“No. To be honest, people always say like, ‘Oh, what if you’d done more skiing when you were young’, because I didn’t go on snow training until I was 13 and my first years in the international scene, I was, in plain words, terrible, you know?
“But my story is so individual and so unique to myself that I’m just really proud of what I was able to achieve when I was able to achieve it.”
Are you retiring straight after the Olympics or are you going to finish the season?
“I will finish the season, but my competitive mind is set on the Olympics. There are two races after the Olympics where I feel like I will just enjoy it. Knowing myself, I will still do some gym work, I will want to do well, but there will be no pressure. The last month will be much more about enjoying training with the team-mates, enjoying racing with the guys who I’ve raced with for a long, long time, and yeah, taking that last month in.”
And have you thought about your life post-skiing?
“I will for sure stay in the sport. I will actually try to launch something this season, in a mentorship capacity so that I’m ready for after-ski racing. I don’t want to just fully commit to one thing, I want to try a few things and then narrow it down. I don’t want to be doing something in six months that I hate. I want to be doing things, trying things, and find the next passion. I want to wake up in the morning with a passion to get to work.”
The more things change, Dave, the more they stay the same.
Interview by Alessandro Poggi
