Dave Ryding

Dave Ryding is Britain’s greatest ever alpine ski racer and a powerful keynote speaker whose story resonates far beyond sport. A specialist in slalom, Dave is best known as the first British athlete to win an Alpine Skiing World Cup race, a historic achievement delivered on the legendary Kitzbühel course in 2022. That victory also made him the oldest winner of a World Cup slalom event, achieved at the age of 35, and confirmed his status as one of British sport’s most remarkable outliers. A five time Olympic athlete and Team GB Olympic flag bearer, Dave speaks with credibility earned over decades at the highest level of an unforgiving global sport.

Dave’s journey began far from the snow covered mountains that dominate alpine skiing. Raised in Bretherton, Lancashire, he grew up in a working class household with no financial safety net and no access to traditional elite pathways. His father worked as a market trader, his mother as a hairdresser, and Dave learned his craft on the dry ski slopes of the Ribble Valley, where runs lasted seconds and progress demanded repetition and patience. He joined Pendle Ski Club as a child, skied on snow for the first time at twelve, and continued racing on plastic slopes into his early twenties, an approach almost unheard of among his international rivals. Educated at Bishop Rawstorne Church of England Academy and Runshaw College, Dave’s formative years were defined by persistence, self belief and a refusal to accept conventional limits.

Across his career, Dave delivered a sequence of results that redefined what British skiing could achieve. He became the first Briton to win the Europa Cup Slalom Series in 2013, marking a breakthrough on the international stage. He went on to claim seven World Cup podiums, including silver and bronze finishes across Europe’s most demanding venues, and secured Britain’s best men’s World Championship result since 1934 with a sixth place finish in 2025. Competing in five Winter Olympic Games, he consistently challenged athletes raised within Alpine systems, while remaining competitive into his late thirties. In 2022, he was selected as Olympic flag bearer for Team GB, a recognition of both performance and influence. His longevity, technical mastery and resilience have given him almost cult status within the ski world.

As a keynote speaker, Dave brings rare authenticity to conversations about grit, commitment and mindset. He speaks openly about having ‘no plan B’, the sacrifices required to sustain excellence and the importance of trusting long term processes over quick wins. His insights are grounded in real experience from a sport where careers can end in seconds and belief is constantly tested. Dave’s story matters because it proves that elite performance can come from unexpected places, and that sustained effort, when paired with clarity of purpose, can overcome deep structural disadvantage. Audiences leave inspired, grounded and challenged to rethink what is possible when excuses are removed and commitment is absolute.