Adelboden Ski Sunday

History rarely looks like history when it's being created. At that

time, there's no knowing... When some eccentric Brits decided to turn

sliding down a mountain into a sport, they probably didn't think it

would become the world tour that it is now. And as the World Cup has

grown, so have the reputations of those who have competed. The number

one! Now legends. Their names edged into

the history books. Lindsey Vorn, Brilliant run! Million stuff from

the World Cup leader! History has a habit of repeating itself. But in

our sport, simply imitating those who have gone before doesn't cut it.

So no sooner has history smiled on its achievement than the smirk is

wiped off its face by someone doing something bigger and better than

anyone had imagined possible. For now, we won't trouble ourselves with

the bigger picture. The joy is in watching the boundaries being

pushed. History will be its own judge. Let the drama unfold.

Hello and welcome to Adelboden. This year, the World Cup celebrates its

50th anniversary and we join the tour just in time for the classic

races. Yes, several great races coming up in the next few weeks but

first this is Adelboden, 20,000 fans ready to scream on their ski idols

in the men's slalom. We've got a stellar line-up including the

overall champion for the last five years Marcel Hirscher, and the most

dominant force in slalom skiing at the moment, Henrik Kristoffersen.

But getting closer and closer to those two is Britain's very own Dave

Ryding. Like so many of the stars of British snow sport, Dave started out

on one of the country's dry slopes. They've uncovered a couple hidden

gems. Just blown by the locals really, just look at them, they are

just sessioning this and absolutely loving it! More on that later on in

the show but now it is back to the slalom here in Adelboden and before

the race began, Graeme Winch went to talk to Dave Ryding, who goes into

this race in the form of his life. Dave Ryding scored his first ever

World Cup top ten in the first race of the season in Levi, Finland, with

a sixth place and he backed that up in Zagreb with a seventh. I'm

guessing he's going to be in a good mood! Dave, how you doing?

Congratulations. Thank you. Awesome season. Tell us about the result in

Levi,. I knew I had some better skiing than last year and I came

into the season in good shape. I just had everything out there and I

was forth after the first run and I thought crikey, it's on now, I'm

going to have to step up on the second one. I wasn't as good on the

second one but still, second place is a dream start to the season. You

jumped into fourth and then it was like wow in Levi. In Zagreb, you

were lying down in 16th place and you came down and you took the lead

by quite a substantial margin over Stefano Gross. Levi was like, I've

got it all to lose. Zagreb was like, I knew I could do better on the

first run. I was slightly annoyed with myself. I was slightly

motivated and itching to get going on the second run. It's an awesome

feel when -- feeling when you see the green light and you let it all

out. What was it like actually being in the leaders's in closure. It's a

dream you just start dreaming and you think you can start picking off

the next guy and the next guy and to get to seven the game was great.

Those strong results meant a ride down a zip wire to the Adelboden

draw. Last night he joined slalom's biggest names as the start list for

the race was picked. As the top skiers, Henrik Kristoffersen and

Marcel Kircher, what do you have to do to challenge them? You're right,

they are a step above the rest. If you look at Henrik, need is the

basics rather than every -- better than everyone else. That's what I'd

been working on for the last three years now, just do the basics better

and I will keep trying to do that. Keep looking at people like Henrik.

They are the guys that I looked it and you can see they are working on

doing the basics right and that's what I'm trying to do as well. To

skiing well? On this slope. I've not figure that out in the last two

years! I've not had my best races here. But I think it is believing

myself. My improved form shows that I'm better and I will just try and

attack it and bring what I've got. It's a cool experience, the crowd is

just buzzing on the piste and you can't not hear it. But you've just

got to keep focusing on going down. It feels a little bit like deja vu.

Every year we come to Adelboden and talk about just how much Dave Ryding

has progressed. What would you put that down to? I think it's mostly a

lot of hard work but he has also added to his very small team. He did

have one coach and he has now added another and the two of his support

staff are the same age as Dave and they are both former racers. They

are as committed to the programmers he is. It's all about incremental

gains, anything they can do to make Dave faster, they do. Do you think

he is a realistic medal contender at Pyeongchang, only a year away? I

think they've could become a medal contender for Pyeongchang. The

overall slalom champion from last year, Henrik Kristoffersen can he

missed a couple of races at the start of the season despite being

fit and in the form of his life. What's that all about? He had an

argument with his national federation, he wants to sign Red

Bull is a personal sponsor, like his team-mate, Axel, but he wasn't

allowed to do so. It wasn't just about the money. When he started

running again, he started winning. Add Valdez there he put down eight

special -- per down a special run. The two of them are in a league of

their own at the moment. The Norwegian is certainly the man to

beat at the moment. The slalom is contested over two runs. Only the

fastest will race again. The classic looked set up to be

contested by slalom's big names. Felix Neureuther laid down a solid

if unspectacular run. They say some guys have all the luck and the

Norwegian's dominant performance, if that wasn't enough, the weather

closed in, completely changing the make-up of the race. Conditions took

a turn for the worse. The rest of the field struggled as visibility

got worse and worse. Current slalom World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher

became lost in the fog on the fiendishly steep bottom section and

was absolutely livid after he finished 1.6 seconds behind his

biggest rival. Britain's Dave Ryding was frustrated after a couple of

costly errors left him over three seconds off the lead but even so he

still gets a second run and a chance of a career-best finish here in

Adelboden. I think it's fair to say that weather dictated the results

rather than the skiers's form? Massive time differences as well.

Earlier this week in Zagreb, the top 30 were separated by one and a half

seconds. Here, Marcel Hirscher is down in sixth place. It was very

thick fog. If it was a football match, it would have been cancelled.

But it is a ski racing and they will only stop it if it is dangerous. It

wasn't fair, but life is not fair. What do you think the best Dave

Ryding and Marcel Hirscher can expect from the second run? Even

though Dave Ryding was massively disappointed with his run and he was

not happy about the conditions, he's lying in 18th place and he could

potentially move up into the top ten which would be a great result for

him. The last time I saw Marcel Hirscher this angry after a run was

when he put his goggles the wrong way round and he moved up into 20th

position. Marcel Hirscher will go absolutely 100% on the second run

and try and shoot for top spot. Talking of the top spot, Henrik

Kristoffersen may have had the best of the weather but he skied

beautifully. Classic Henrik Kristoffersen. Really clean angles

and really setting his terms. Interesting to see how close Moelgg

was. It may now become a three horse race for slalom wins.

Over to Charlie with the commentary. COMMENTATOR: Jonathan Nord button

will get this under way, 8.4 seconds off the pace of the first round

leader who is his compatriot, Henrik Kristoffersen. Nordbotten With that

very upright start in the upper body, trying to keep it as tight as

possible while the legs go to work underneath him. Edge to edge,

alternate red and blue gates. As you can see, the weather is

significantly better for this second run, as Nordbotten comes over into

the steepest pitch of the run, perhaps the steepest pitch on any

slalom run on the World Cup tour. 60%. It's about 30 degrees. A couple

of slip turns but he has got them calving again and now Nordbotten

looking to set the pace in this second run, which he does at

1:58.73. That is the time they will all be looking to beat. That was a

great run by Jonathan Nordbotten, taking full advantage of the fact

that he started number one on the second run. The mist has lifted and

the visibility is much better. A good run laid down and that time

should stand for a few races. Dave Ryding of Great Britain than next to

go. Can he find a second run charge like he found in Zagreb on Thursday

when he moved from 16th to seventh? 0.57 is his advantage over

Nordbotten. Conditions far better for Ryding, but he has lost a lot of

time on those opening gates, but many before him have lost time as

well. Can he find it between intermediate and one and two? Ryding

is a 100 of a second the wrong side of the clock. Coming in now to the

finish pitch, one of the steepest pitch is on the World Cup tour. 60%.

To put that into perspective, the steepest road in Great Britain is

30%. Ryding has the green light but can he keep it to the finish?

Nordbotten has led all the way but Ryding is putting his time under

pressure. 1:58.73. Can Ryding get there? No, he's just outside. He

goes at second for the time being. That was a great second run from

Dave Ryding. Jonathan Nordbotten, he had a really tough time to beat. He

has set a course with a big offset and Ryding came on to that finish

pitch and did the left foot under gate, two Gates set in the same

direction, he did that well and took the lead at that point but just

couldn't quite hold it until the finish. Still a great performance

from the British skier. Next up representing Germany, Linus

Strasser. Strasser has had a good season, points scored in every

slalom race and he's starting to knock on the door of the top 30. Can

he maintain the green light from top to bottom? 1:26.89, Strasser still

has it and he has found three hundredths of a second. If he gets

to the bottom of this run he will better his best ever result here,

but what he will want to do is try to get in front of Jonathan'

Nordbotten, who was the first place skier down this run. It's that

enough to take the lead away from the Norwegian, Nordbotten? He's done

it... No, it is the same time! Exactly the same time. Strasser goes

into equal first position with Jonathan Nordbotten. Jonathan

Nordbotten's time is not beaten but it is matched exactly to the

hundreds of a second. As the German came onto the finish pitch, he skied

the under gate very well. It's confusing, you can dive in on that

last one and you might get a quick split time but you haven't invested

in the height to carry the Skeete the finish and that is exactly what

happened there. Still, nothing to separate the Norwegian and the

German. The Frenchman next challenge, the

winner of the giant slalom here yesterday, looking for the double.

His advantage over the leaders .15 of a second and he's having to jump

into the turns. It's very, very scrappy, somehow stays upright,

that's a wonderful piece of athleticism to stay on his skis. Its

cost and time. Still in touch, point to two off the pace. How can he'd

get on? He has found time, .17 of a second. Can he keep it clean to the

finish? Last couple of turns, looking to take it away from the

competition. He does. He leads for France. Living by the seat of his

pants. Using his skills, his giant slalom skills to make that long left

footed under date very clean. Carried speed and got hyped and was

able to carry the exhilaration of the way down into the finish and

that is what made up the time, the last section. COMMENTATOR: Next ago,

the Austrian who led after the first round run in Zagreb the other night.

No pressure here, but look at that for a start, full out attack from

the man who has found time on those opening turns. Really taking it to

these gates. He continues to find time. He is flying. Enter the

finishing Petch, the cloud comes back in. Conditions far from ideal

for the Austrian but he's not holding back. Look at that 0.7 five.

He will be so disappointed after his performance in Zagreb, he's taking

it out on the course, surely the leaders time will be beaten? Here he

comes, he's done it! 0.43, what response.

A very exciting skier to watch, so loose and relaxed on his skis. Loose

and relaxed personality as well. He lets absolutely everything wrapped

when he is on the course. Ready to race as the overall World Cup leader

who puts his balance down to childhood summers riding on cows and

playing on slack lines. Can he balance speed and control to claim

top spot? COMMENTATOR: He leads the slalom standings, not happy with the

first run and the cloud but things have not improved. But at least he

will be used to skiing this piste in the cloud today.

He really needs to put in one of those second run charges late in the

line, that's a big mistake. He got his 100th podium finish here

yesterday to go level in all-time podium finishes. He needs one more

to go into second position out right. He will have his work cut out

here. He's being juddered around. You can see him gritting his teeth.

Still has the green light, looking to take it away from his compatriot,

Manuel Feller. He leads, that's really good skiing in the bottom

half. He leads by 0.86 of a second. That is the lead and crucially he is

not punching the air with the light in the finish area, he made a couple

of small mistakes, one on the flat and then coming onto the steep very

hard on his edges, really aggressive. Interesting that the fog

might be coming in on the top of the course as that could play a part in

the last part of this race. Next ago is the German number one, a sporting

celebrity, his patchy start the season is not the focus of German

tabloids, his girlfriend recently caught the bikini at a celebrity

wedding and the press are getting excited. Can he be best man on this

big day? COMMENTATOR: Just three remain at the top of the hill. First

of which is Felix. Second in Zagreb. On Thursday. The three remaining

scares were the podium finishers in Zagreb. He sees his advantage on was

totally wiped out in the opening turns. He needs to get into the red

over and quickly. -- into the rhythm of the course and quickly. Can he

scheme this bottom pitch? That's the difference at the moment, these

bottom turns, get it back together again, finds an extra tenth of a

second. As the cloud clears they can let the skis go. Can he get in front

of the leader? No! 0.05, the wrong side of the clock from his

perspective. They say what goes around comes

around, he started early on the first run and had a brilliantly

clear race, second run the for could come in, not as clean on that second

section, could not carry the speed to the line. It looks like Marcel

Hirscher will be on the podium again. The veteran ski racer loves

his bike on what as much as his skis. He raised money for critically

ill children in the summer. They say nice guys finish last but he has won

this week in Zagreb and should not be ruled out. COMMENTATOR: Manfred

Moelgg, his advantage a massive 1.22 seconds. Had the last of the good

weather in the first run, he's got cloud in the second. What can the

veteran do? The answer is it's a good start, the second oldest winner

on the World Cup tour in Zagreb. And at the next time split he finds

himself 1.23 seconds the right side of the clock. Now, coming onto the

finish pitch. The right gets thrown behind his body, he gets it back

together quickly. The advantage is 0.9 to take the lead away from

Marcel Hirscher. It's only a mistake which will cost him now or at least

the lead. Surely the time will be beaten and it is, but only by 0.3

six. He backs up his Zagreb win with another fine performance.

Great run from Manfred Moelgg, clearly not going to settle for

second place, relaxed and aggressive skiing from the Italian and he's

thrown down the gauntlet to Henrik Kristoffersen. But it was his coach

who set the second run, that should help the Norwegian. Next is Henrik

Kristoffersen, last season he was champion of this discipline and the

first race to win six slab runs in one season since 1992. But the

Norwegian is staying grounded. He is dating his childhood sweetheart and

has a new puppy. While the fairy tale continues here and see him

crowned top dog? COMMENTATOR: The final race at the top of the hill,

Henrik Kristoffersen, can he take the win away from Manfred Moelgg? We

have seen those in the past folding under the pressure of leading after

the first run but not this man, he knows no fear. He has eyes in his

veins as he attacks once again. He keeps the advantage at 0.6 one.

Trying to defend his title that he won here last year, into the

finishing pitch. Had good weather in run one, cloud in the second run,

can he keep it together? You bet he can, he is annihilating Manfred

Moelgg's time, stamping his authority on the slalom World Cup

tour. Surely for the win? It's immense! Its immense! 1.83, what a

winning margin! Henrik Kristoffersen is the winner! What a performance.

Marcel Hirscher does not look happy. That's because of the first run. But

Henrik Kristoffersen is on top of the podium once again.

We said before the race that this was a two horse race and between the

runs it was maybe a three horse race but now I think Henrik Kristoffersen

has proven he is in a league of his own, that was absolutely

outstanding. Admittedly it was a course set for him by his coach but

that's the way to do it, superb angles are superbly clean,

generating speed all the way down. Brilliant. Confirmation of the

result. He won the four Classics last year and he could repeat the

feat in 2017. Mandrake more Dave Ryding recalls his best finish

ever hear coming 15th in Adelboden. That is four top 15 finishes this

season. It is so fun to ski and with the people around, thank you so

much. I can hear them on the course and it's so fun to ski here. The

second run was very impressive, tell us about it? I just tried to push as

hard as I could. Just skiing. I'm having fun. It's just a nice

feeling. You must have had the worst of the conditions on the first run

but the second, happy with it? I give it what I had, pushed as hard

as I could. It always could be better but I was happy with how I

approached it and some of the skiing I put down. It's a tough course,

it's really nice to be in the top 15. The second run course set by the

Norwegian coach, big offset a set of Henrik Kristoffersen? Yeah, and I

would guess Jonathan Nordbotten as well, he was still leading when I

came down so you can say he did a good job. What does 15th place mean

for you in terms of staying in the top 15? I'm not sure, I will find

out when I get back to the hotel and see where it puts me, I just have to

keep chipping away throughout the season and it should take care of

itself. Better skiing and hopefully a bit more luck like the first round

and we will see. A personal best you here. By far, positives to take

away, showing if you fight and are willing to stick it in the finish on

the first run then anything is possible and to come away with 15th

is more than I expected, when I saw you after the first run and I

thought I was going home early. Congratulations, well done. Thank

you. Elsewhere in winter sports, Inc credible results for British

athletes. Elise Christie winning five World Cup races in speed

skating and Lizzie Arnold is barred in the World Cup standings having

returned to competition after over a year of break from the sport.

Meanwhile Team GB snowboarders have been impressing in the World Cup.

Billy Morgan took third in Monchengladbach where Katie Ormerod

won Silver, having already claimed bronze in South Korea in November.

In Moscow yesterday she became the first Briton ever to win gold at a

World Cup. Congratulations. When you think about at the fact that Team GB

has a handful of Olympic medal contenders in freestyle and ski

racers regularly placing on the World Cup it's pretty incredible.

Especially when you consider we don't have mountains on this kind of

scale back home. Which means that our relative success in snow sports

can be attributed in no small part to a huge made of hard work, a

sprinkling of ingenuity and a large portion of creativity.

We are pretty resourceful when we have to be here in Britain. Nowadays

you are never far from a course. The current generations success is down

to the humble dry slope. They are dotted all over the UK, come in all

shapes and sizes and they might look a bit tired compared to their shiny

new indoor cousins but scratch beneath the surface and you will see

they are thriving. To prove it I'm going on a road trip from south to

north visiting some of the UK's best and most unique dry slopes.

Unfortunately for me I've got a friend for a company. You probably

know him from this. Or maybe this? It is of course Jamie Nicholls. Good

morning. No, I've never ridden here so I'm

quite excited. That jump looks fun. Let's try it out.

I got Jamie's autograph when he was about 11. Keep up the snow!

The first stop here at Snowtrax done and dusted and you have to say,

pretty rad set up. I like how it is confined in a small space. There's

loads of stuff you can do, loads of rails. It's 9am on a Wednesday

morning and beginner lessons are happening over there and there is an

85-year-old guy learning to ski! How amazing is that! Lock and Load and a

warm well dry slope here we come! I remember competing here when I was

eight years old and I remember that so well! Still here.

Blown away by the locals really. Look at them, they are just

sessioning this rad setup and absolutely loving it. Warmwell! We

had a lot of fun but we couldn't hang around. Our final stop for the

day in Gloucester was 124 miles and two and a half hours up the road.

This was a chance to relive the good old days. My first ever competition

here a few years back. Jamie wasn't even born.

And it was our first encounter with the infamous wrist injuring finger

snapping diamonds of doom. Feeling very nervous right now! It's like

200 metres of panicking the whole way down. Kind of like going back in

a time warp to 80s. Riding on this stuff, I don't know. But it's nice,

it's got a romantic charm to it. This is the dry slope of old right

here. Soaking wet, hanging out with your mates. Isn't it ironic that

it's called dry slope and yet you leave soaking wet! How you feeling

now? Feeling tired, man. Good, though, isn't it? Feel like I've

written three slopes in a day. We have! -- ridden. Really excited for

tomorrow. How do you feel being back at

Halifax? Every time I'm back home, I love coming back here. It's where I

started snowboarding, so it brings back great memories for me. Andy is

here and he has come to shred. Come on then. We don't have long, do we?

An hour and then I have to meet the rest of the GB crew in Scotland, so

we had better get going. why has this place produced well,

obviously, two in edible European snowboarders but also Katie Ormerod

is a product of this place. She started just after me and I can

remember her being so small and now she's just amazing, the first woman

to do a double cut 1080. This is from all the practice riding on this

dry slope. We would hit this one and then that one, right through those

trees. On top of the quarter pipe or over there. You have to be a bit

creative, basically. That transfers then onto snow and that is where we

have counted today. Jay is off to meet up with Team GB and I'm going

to take you down to Sheffield. They've got a half pipe, they've got

an actual dendex half pipe! In 2012, Sheffield ski village was destroyed

by fire. They had a half pipe... Sheffield is sadly very much the

past of dry slopes. In its heyday, this was Europe's largest artificial

ski resort and it was a resort. It's not just a straight slope with just

one jump. It's got all sorts. This was an amazing breeding ground for

so many good snow was and -- so many good skiers and snowboarders. James

Woods, obviously. It's terrible this burned down a year ago. There's

nothing left to right for us. But in 2015, the Salt Street crew proved

that where there's a will, there's a way. There are whispers of Sheffield

ski village being rebuilt but I'm not the only one who hopes they are

true. For now, though, it was time to hit the road again. I left him in

Yorkshire and hit the road with an impromptu stop off along the way. As

we were barrelling up the M6 we had a quick look on the map and noticed

that not more than 50 minutes off the motorway is this little hidden

gem, Kendal dry slope. CHUCKLES

Look at it! Answer me this, why is it green? It is green because we are

just on the edge of the national park. Where we are based, having a

white slope wouldn't have been fitting with the local surroundings.

OK. How important do you think it is to have dry slopes like this? It is

important because for that weekly, day-to-day practice, this is the

scene for these guys. Some of these guys have never been on snow and

some of them might never go on snow but they can still take part. It's a

great facility and it's a great scene in the UK. It looks great. The

sprinklers have just come on. I'm going to have a quick slide. Is that

all right? Yes! CHUCKLES

Well, there you go. Kendal done and dusted. Very stoked we stopped off

here. What a little treat, that one. As the sun set on day two of our

tour, quickly back to the M6 and the small mile of 150 -- small matter of

150 miles to drive to Glasgow for our final stop. We've met back up

with Jamie and also that boy right there, Matt McCormack. He's a local

legend around these parts. Apparently pretty good!

Pretty intimidating first go. Not going to lie. It's a big jump.

It seems like all the slopes we've been to, it's a similar deal. It's a

similar scene, there are kids just constantly sessioning and riding.

Which is a good thing! It's a good thing that these dry slopes are

still has scenes because nowadays with the snow centres, people

ventured to those things. It's going to change at some point, some snow

dome, some actual fridge kids will come through here. They are coming

up now. There are loads of young kids coming up there. There needs to

be a collaboration between the two. There's one kid from Braehead, he's

just started here and he has progressed so fast through jumps.

We've enjoyed it, we've had a good hot lap of the UK. From what you've

said and obviously yourselves, the future of British no boarding is

pretty bright, isn't it? Definitely. 100%. Listen, you haven't earned

your bowl of chips yet, so let's do it, let's have a view more runs. --

the future of British snowboarding. It's great to see so many UK

facilities thriving. If you're interested in getting involved in

skiing or snowboarding on British soil, you can go to that website and

get involved and find your local slope. We want to show pictures and

videos of you guys in action. Just send them in using the hashtag Ski

Sunday. If you weren't inspired by our tour of the British dry slopes,

this might inspire you, the inaugural year of the championship

ski and snowboard league. It pits dry slopes and snow domes around the

UK head-to-head. The standard is pretty impressive. Whether you are

on dry slope at home or abroad, lay down your best runs and send them

our way. We will also answer your questions from the silly to the

serious and we have got all bases covered. We've had a lot of people

asking about snow conditions in the Alps and where is best. It's

important to say, don't believe in everything you read in the papers.

Southern France and western Italy have had fantastic snowfalls and as

you can see, Switzerland and Austria have had their fill in the last week

as well. We've had questions from Nick and you, who want to know who

our best prospects in British downhill are. -- Nick and Ewan. They

say that ski and slalom discipline but downhill is a cult! Britain has

had great history in producing downhill skiers in the past but now

we are a bit thin on the ground and mainly producing technical skiers.

On the women's side, we have got Alex and Charlotte McShane double

guest. Do you think the lack of downhill has coincided with the lack

of the mad gene! Another question asks how you get more roosters on

his toes. That refers to the spray you get. He has got some incredible

toe and he is finishing his heel side once beautifully. If you put

more weight on it and then finish your turn by cutting across, you

will pick up more snow. That is it for this week and join as next week

for the fastest and longest downhill on the World Cup tour. We're also

featuring a Swiss skier who doesn't like to hang around either, Jeremie

Heinz. COMMENTATOR: He is really going for

this! He leads the way!