BORMIO, Italy, Feb 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - "Old fox" Dave Ryding's career in elite alpine ski racing will culminate in Monday's slalom in his fifth Olympics.

At the age of 39, the Briton has also competed in nine world championships, with a best result of sixth in Saalbach last year. He has one World Cup victory to his name, in Kitzbuehel in 2022, along with six other podium finishes.

It is a far cry from his youth, when he learned to ski while dodging sheep droppings on a dry slope in northwest England and continued to race until the age of 21.

"I remember sitting in a class in high school thinking I'd love to go to one Olympics and I'd love to be ranked in the top 30 in the world," Ryding told reporters in Bormio.

"I had the right qualities built into me by my parents, and I was pretty good on the dry slope and the one thing that no one was thinking about was how much experience I had on dry slope in a race situation."

- Work ethic -

Ryding credits his parents, gas fitter Carl and hairdresser Shirley, with instilling in him a proper work ethic.

"I had no plan B either. So many kids have come from wealthy families that have plan B's and fallbacks," he said in reference to the average profile of top British skiers.

"I didn't have that and it was a case of you either make this or you walk away with an empty bank account at 30 years old and then go on with your life, and I was willing to do that.

"I wasn't bothered about that."

Ryding, who started on the dry slope at Pendle Ski Club at the age of eight and first skied on snow at 12, said his career had put Britain "in the top 10 in the world".

"It shows that you can do these things even coming from a dry slope background," he said.

"My legacy and my story is so personal and no one's ever done it that way."

- Keep it simple -

After the last two Winter Games in Asia, in Beijing four years ago and Pyeongchang in 2018, Ryding said it was "nice to do an Olympics in Europe".

"It's my fifth Olympics and I want to try and do better than I've ever done before really. Keep it simple."

Ryding said the Bormio piste was a "more mellow slope than we normally race".

"I think you'll see some names that you really don't expect up there. Hopefully I can be one of them.

"Obviously like any Games, everyone loves to talk about a medal. It would be amazing, but it certainly won't totally define me. But that's why I'm here, right? I'm here to give myself that that chance.

"I said to myself two years ago that I thought I left a little bit on the table in the major events, the Olympics and the world championships.

"This year I'm really trying to better what I've done before, which was ninth in Pyeongchang. So that's where my mind's at and that's why I'm here. On Monday I have a fighting chance."

Ryding added that experience does not count as much in Bormio as on traditionally tough courses such as Wengen or Kitzbuehel.

"It's much more about full throttle skiing," he said, warning that the younger skiers might be more nimble than "the old fox".

Ryding said none of his family will be present for his fifth Olympics.

"It's just me, myself and I. All I'm going to do is try and have as much energy as I can for Monday, go home on Tuesday and then share some time with them," he said.

"This year's been about being in a position to compete on Monday, that's been the steadfast thing and I've not really thought about anything else."