Laurie Taylor Seals Career-Best 4th in World Cup Slalom Opener, Dave Ryding Seventh as GB Team Achieves Best Combined Performance
Great Britain's Laurie Taylor produced a career-best fourth-place finish to lead the British team's best-ever combined showing in men's slalom at the World Cup season opener in Levi, Finland. In his first event since Aspen in March 2024, where he finished eighth, the 29-year-old put pressure on the leaders before narrowly missing out on a podium spot.
Taylor was initially 15th after the first run but staged a dramatic turnaround to lead for the majority of the second leg, ultimately crossing the line in a total time of one minute and 51.33 seconds – just 0.31 secs behind winner Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil.
Braathen, who secured his sixth World Cup victory this season and first representing Brazil, edged France's Clement Noel for second place by a whisker. Meanwhile, Finland's Eduard Hallberg pipped Taylor to third by an equally slim margin.
"It felt amazing – I had no idea that's where I was going to end up," Taylor exclaimed in the aftermath of his impressive performance. "The run felt solid and in charge. I just kept climbing [in the standings]; it was quite surreal. It means a huge lot."
Taylor's career-best finish is a significant milestone in his journey, as he has worked tirelessly for years to get to this point.
Meanwhile, veteran Dave Ryding secured seventh place in what proved to be his final World Cup event before retirement – a fitting conclusion to an illustrious career that saw him previously claim the only other time GB achieved two top-10 finishers in a World Cup race.
GB's combined performance across both events was an encouraging sign for the team. Coach Jai Geyer stated, "What a day. That's the best start to the season we've had as a team with something we've never done before – two in the top seven – so we're all pumped, great for the team."
The World Cup opener marked an additional milestone for Pinheiro Braathen, who secured his first victory representing Brazil – ending Norway's dominance.
Great Britain's Laurie Taylor produced a career-best fourth-place finish to lead the British team's best-ever combined showing in men's slalom at the World Cup season opener in Levi, Finland. In his first event since Aspen in March 2024, where he finished eighth, the 29-year-old put pressure on the leaders before narrowly missing out on a podium spot.
Taylor was initially 15th after the first run but staged a dramatic turnaround to lead for the majority of the second leg, ultimately crossing the line in a total time of one minute and 51.33 seconds – just 0.31 secs behind winner Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil.
Braathen, who secured his sixth World Cup victory this season and first representing Brazil, edged France's Clement Noel for second place by a whisker. Meanwhile, Finland's Eduard Hallberg pipped Taylor to third by an equally slim margin.
"It felt amazing – I had no idea that's where I was going to end up," Taylor exclaimed in the aftermath of his impressive performance. "The run felt solid and in charge. I just kept climbing [in the standings]; it was quite surreal. It means a huge lot."
Taylor's career-best finish is a significant milestone in his journey, as he has worked tirelessly for years to get to this point.
Meanwhile, veteran Dave Ryding secured seventh place in what proved to be his final World Cup event before retirement – a fitting conclusion to an illustrious career that saw him previously claim the only other time GB achieved two top-10 finishers in a World Cup race.
GB's combined performance across both events was an encouraging sign for the team. Coach Jai Geyer stated, "What a day. That's the best start to the season we've had as a team with something we've never done before – two in the top seven – so we're all pumped, great for the team."
The World Cup opener marked an additional milestone for Pinheiro Braathen, who secured his first victory representing Brazil – ending Norway's dominance.
lucas pinheiro braathen is a beast and now that finland's not dominating anymore it's gonna be interesting to see who steps up 
dave ryding is retiring tho lol nice way to go out, 7th place at the world cup 
! 4th place is insane and it's so awesome to see him finally getting that career-best finish 
he worked so hard for this and it's great to see the GB team killing it 
dave ryding's retirement was a bit sad tho... he's been an iconic part of british ski racing for ages 
but i'm sure he'll always be remembered as a legend in the sport 
anyway, can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings! 
! He finished 4th which is pretty impressive, especially since he was initially 15th 
. It's awesome that the GB team did their best and got some great results together 
coach jai geeyer is bringing the fire with that "we've never done before" statement 
and that last minute shave off from the winner is insane 
and to go out on top with a 7th place finish is really satisfying 
he gave it his all and now it's time to hang up those skis 
, but congrats to laurie taylor for that career best finish! 
just thinkin bout laurence taylor's 4th place finish is pretty incredible, he put so much pressure on those leaders in the slalom event! and that comeback in the 2nd run was insane 
. gotta give a shout out to him for his hard work payin off like this. and dave ryding gettin' 7th as he rides off into retirement is pretty cool too 
Dave Ryding deserves all the love tho, what an awesome way to ride off into retirement 
. Can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings! 
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