Dave Ryding, by his own admission, has had something of a dream season – with the cherry on top coming thanks to another top-15 finish in the final World Cup slalom race of the campaign last weekend. 

Yet like most elite sportsmen, the Bretherton alpine skier is already targeting improvement ahead of next year as plots how to keep challenging the world’s elite.

Ryding began the season with his best-ever World Cup finish of 12th in the Val d’Isere slalom in December, rounded it off with a 15th-place in St Moritz on Sunday while also having a third top-15 result by coming 13th at Santa Caterina in between.

Those results helped him end the campaign 22nd in the slalom rankings and the 29-year-old couldn’t hide his delight at the consistently impressive displays and finale in particular.

“Going into the St Moritz race, only the top 15 get points, so to come away with some points was an ideal ending to a great season,” said Ryding.

“It put the icing on the cake and showed I’ve got the speed all the way through the season, so it was very rewarding.

“My best race was the first race of the season and then the last race was my third-best, so just to show that I can keep it going through the whole season is a big thing for me.

“I’ll think more about targets over the summer but already I want to improve on where I am at the moment which is 22 in the world.

“That’s a massive step up from last year, so as long as I keep on putting the work in and work hard with my coach then hopefully I can keep improving.

“You never know what the next season will bring and there are so many variables in skiing but I believe I can go better.”

Ryding’s World Cup season may be done but his attention now turns to the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships, which are currently taking place in the world-class ski resort of Tignes, France.

He will contest the slalom later this week – aiming to defend the title he won last year – and while entering the competition as the man to beat brings its own pressure, the Pendle Ski Club member insists being part of a British invasion is a nice change of pace.

“The British Champs are massively different to the World Cup and it’s a different kind of pressure for me but at the same time, I enjoy supporting the race,” added Ryding.

“I enjoy coming here and it’s a pleasure to race against the other Brits and see what they bring to the table.

“They always step their game up because it’s the National Champs and you feel like you’re at home whereas when you’re around Europe I am normally the only Brit on my own against the French, the Austrians or whoever.

“You come to the British Champs and we outnumber everyone else which lifts everyone.”

To follow the progress of the Delancey British Alpine Ski Team visit www.teambss.org.uk or follow @teambss on Twitter. As Principal Sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, Delancey is proud to be able to provide British athletes with the support they require to win World Cup and Winter Olympic medals. For more information visit www.delancey.comwww.delancey.com