GBS athletes add sixth and seventh podiums in final pre-Christmas competitions
Atkin takes gold, Kenworthy and Richards impress in Copper
Zoe Atkin delivered another standout performance for her second career victory in Copper Mountain, while Gus Kenworthy and Liam Richards both impressed in an enthralling pair of Freeski Halfpipe World Cup contests in the US resort.
Atkin, the reigning Halfpipe World Champion, was in imperious form, leading all the way through qualification and Finals to seal victory, while a dramatic men’s Finals saw Kenworthy finish fourth and only marginally off the podium, with Richards finishing in ninth spot to take a first career World Cup top-10 berth.
Taylor takes first World Cup victory of 25/26 season in Pinzolo
Jaz Taylor‘s continued run of success on the Telemark World Cup tour saw her add a first World Cup podium of the season with victory in the second of the weekend’s double-header Sprint World Cup races in Pinzolo. Taylor, who boasts back-to-back overall Crystal Globes, had already recorded a battling fourth-place finish in the first of the weekend’s races before coming through victorious in an incredibly tight contest to stand on the top of the podium for the seventh time since the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
Davies pick of the bunch in hectic Ski Cross season
Ollie Davies was the standout performer for British Ski Cross World Cup entrants over a three-race week in Arosa and Innichen, taking 12th spot in the Arosa World Cup and 31st in the second of the Innichen meets. Scott Johns finished just outside the top-30 with a strong 34th place showing in Arosa, while Tommy Dade and Andrew Wilson made overall and British World Cup debuts across the week, with Dade 59th in Arosa and Wilson 48th and 44th in Innichen.
Two in the top-20 in Alta Badia Slalom
Dave Ryding and Laurie Taylor rounded out their pre-Christmas racing with top-20 finishes in the Alta Badia Slalom World Cup, while Billy Major was unfortunate to finish just outside the top-30 after the first run despite a bout of illness in the build-up to the event.
15th for Ryding and 18th for Taylor marked decent results in a tricky race where the second run in particular threw up significant drama throughout, and caps an impressive first half of the season from the British Slalom team which has seen all three members of the Men’s Slalom World Cup team battling for the top spots on a regular basis.
And the rest…
Neil Simpson and Rob Poth were unfortunate to record a DNF when well-placed on their first Para Alpine World Cup race of the season in St. Moritz…
Aaron Wild, Siddhartha Ullah, and Sam Gaskin put up battling showings in the Copper Mountain Halfpipe Snowboard (Wild, Ullah) and Freeski (Gaskin) World Cups…
Luca Carrick-Smith‘s World Cup career continued with another start in Alta Badia, in a week in which brother Freddy recorded British history with a first ever Europa Cup GS victory for British Alpine racers…
18-year-old takes stunning victory from Bib 48
Freddy Carrick-Smith has become Britain’s first ever GS Europa Cup winner with a sensational victory in the French resort of Valloire.
Drawn in bib 48 and sitting 21st spot after the first run, 18-year-old Freddy obliterated the field in run two delivering the fastest second run in the field by a margin of almost 0.5s to rise 20 places in the standings and seal victory by two hundredths of a second from Norway’s Hans Grahl-Madsen.
Freddy’s victory, which comes in only the third EC GS appearance of his career, makes him the first Brit ever to win a Europa Cup in GS and only the second ever men’s EC GS podium holder after Charlie Raposo in 2019.
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale hit gold, Atkin clinches Silver in China, and XC team impress in Davos
Bankes and Nightingale top Team standings in Cervinia
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale took Snowboard Cross World Cup victory on the season’s first week of SBX action with a sensational display of racing speed and tactics.
The 2023 Team SBX World Champions raced brilliantly throughout Sunday’s event, qualifying in second spot from the Quarter Final stage before victory in the Semi Final saw them through to a Big Final showdown against teams representing Italy, France, and Germany.
Sitting in third position after the men’s run, Bankes then dominated the women’s run to seal victory ahead of Italy in second and France in third.
In the individual competitions, Bankes marked her first appearance since sustaining a broken collarbone to take ninth spot, while in the Men’s contest, Nightingale finished 34th and Max Vardy took 37th on his World Cup debut.
Atkin wins Silver in Secret Garden
Zoe Atkin marked her first appearance of the season with silver in the Secret Garden Halfpipe World Cup. The reigning Halfpipe World Champion skied brilliantly in challenging conditions to lead the standings after the first run, before she was overhauled by China’s Eileen Gu by a margin of 1.50 points.
Earlier, the men’s competition saw Gus Kenworthy and Sam Gaskin finish 34th and 35th respectively, while Siddhartha Ullah came 30th in the Men’s Snowboard competition.
Clugnet and Musgrave headline strong showing for Cross-Country team in Davos
James Clugnet and Andrew Musgrave put in superb showings amid a strong team performance in Davos on the latest leg of the Cross-Country World Cup. Clugnet’s tenth place finish in the Men’s SP F was followed by sixth place for Musgrave in 10km F to give both athletes their best finish of the season so far. Earlier, the Team Sprint had seen both Clugnet and Andrew Young and Anna Pryce and Tabitha Williams finish in 17th, just outside of Finals, while Pryce was also on impressive form to take 35th in the Sprint Free, and Young 41st in the 10km F. Joe Davies, meanwhile, made his first appearance of the season taking an excellent 17th place in the 10km F.
Meenagh secures brace of Biathlon top-10s in Canmore
Scott Meenagh‘s first Para Biathlon World Cup showing of the season yielded a brace of top-10 finishes alongside an 11th place in the 12.5km Individual. The highlight came with a 5th place in the Sprint discipline which saw Meenagh in striking distance of a podium before a crash and damaged ski held back further progress, before following up with an 8th place in the Sprint Pursuit.
Two in top-30 in Men’s Val d’Isere Slalom
A challenging course delivered two top-30 finishes for the Men’s Alpine Slalom team, with Laurie Taylor finishing 12th and Billy Major 24th. With three Brits in the top-15 after the first run omens looked good for a strong showing, but course challenges saw a DNF for Dave Ryding while Taylor and Major both battled through to cement their top-30 standings.
Luca Carrick-Smith and Freddy Carrick-Smith both recorded first run DNFs in the Slalom and Giant Slalom respectively.
And the rest…
Ollie Davies was pick of the Brits in the Ski Cross Val Thorens World Cup finishing 21st in the second of the back-to-back World Cups, taking 46th in the first race. Scott Johns finished 53rd and 57th.
Fred Warburton and guide James Hannan were Britain’s only representatives in the Steinach Para Alpine World Cup, finishing 7th in Alpine Combined, 8th in the SG Speed Event, and 8th and 7th in back-to-back SG World Cups.
Britain’s Park & Pipe team shone on two of China’s biggest stages, while there was Cross-Country, Moguls, Para Nordic, and Alpine action in Europe and North America
Brits Shine on the Beijing Big Air Stage
Mia Brookes banked her fourth career World Cup victory with a masterclass performance in the Beijing Big Air World Cup to see off a strong field in the Chinese capital. Making her first competitive appearance of the season, Brookes breezed through qualifiers in top spot with a score of 173.73, before bringing out a backside-12 melon and a cab-14 stale in Finals to below away the competition, delivering a 30-point victory margin. In the Men’s competition, Txema Mazet-Brown qualified from heat one with a well-executed cab-12, before delivering a personal best World Cup result of seventh place in a strong showing against some of the world’s best Big Air riders.
In Freeski, Kirsty Muir showcased her grit and resilience, bouncing back from a heavy crash in the second run of Finals to take fourth place and a share of the yellow bib having earlier qualified in second position.
Tom Greenway earned his best World Cup result in the Men’s Freeski contest with an overall 17th place finish, stomping a double-12 tail and switch left double-18 stale to secure an excellent score of 153.00 in qualifiers.
Elsewhere in Women’s Snowboard, Katie Ormerod finished 30th after a run one knuckle led to a decision to pull out after the first run of competitions, while Maisie Hill was a DNS following a practice run crash and Chris McCormick was also a DNS in Men’s Freeski after a crash in practice.
Kenworthy returns to podium on first competition in four years
In Snow League Halfpipe, Gus Kenworthy made an astonishing return to competition after four years’ absence, delivering a third place finish and his first major podium since 2020 with a classic demonstration of Halfpipe skiing.
The 34-year-old, who announced his return to action earlier this year, rolled back the years to progress to the Semi Final stage of the new knockout format competition, before winning the third-place playoff after his opponent was forced to withdraw with injury.
Zoe Atkin, despite her best efforts, was unable to compete due to illness.
A weekend of breakthroughs and momentum for the Cross Country squad
The Cross Country squad delivered a solid set of results across Sprint Classic, 20km Skiathlon and 10km Interval Start Free in Trondheim. For the first time since 2019, Britain fielded a team across the men’s and women’s competition with World Cup debuts from Tabitha Williams and Anna Pryce.
In the 20km Skiathlon, Andrew Musgrave was in solid form as he came in 13th, with Gabriel Gledhill following behind crossing the line in 65th.
In the women’s Skiathlon, World Cup debutants Tabitha Willams and Anna Pryce put down a strong showing to return home with 51st and 55th place finishes.
The Sprint Classic saw Pryce and James Clugnet take 63rd and 65th place respectively.
Over in the 10km Interval Start Free, Williams and Pryce secured 57th and 68th positions while in the men’s race, Musgrave ended up in 53rd, Gledhill 68th and Clugnet 76th.
Meenagh gets season underway in Canmore
In the Para-Nordic 10km Mass Start Classic sitting classification, Scott Meenagh opened his World Cup campaign with a hard-earned 13th place in the Canadian resort of Canmore, with Britain’s most successful ever Para Nordic skier now set to take on three Para Biathlon World Cup competitions this week in the Sprint, Sprint Pursuit, and 12.5km Individual events.
Moguls athletes Kick-Off the season in Ruka
Makayla Gerken-Schofield got her World Cup season underway with battling 26th and 33rd place finishes on an incredibly gnarly course. whilst Mateo Jeannesson was a DNS as he and the team build a strategy to see him peak in the coming months of the season.
Hard-Fought Alpine Results on the Birds of Prey
Downhill action in Beaver Creek saw Roy-Alexander Steudle to 63rd place as he battled through a demanding set on a challenging track; while unsafe weather conditions saw the Super G race to be cancelled for Steudle as his start bib fell outside of the top 30.
Kirsty Muir makes history while British athletes open their World Cup seasons across Alpine, Cross-Country, and Para Snowboard
British success on the Park & Pipe scene
A historic moment for Kirsty Muir who secured Britain’s first ever Freeski Big Air World Cup victory in her first competition of the season. Muir put down a flawless left double-14 safety and a textbook right double-10 mute to post an insurmountable score of 174.50 to top the leaderboard in Secret Garden. Muir’s victory came having topped the standings after qualifiers and provides a crucial lift for the 21-year-old as she returns to Bejing, where she claimed second place in the 2023 Big Air World Cup contest.
Following the weather-affected cancellation in Stubai the previous week, Tom Greenway and Chris McCormick were back with a vengeance, each delivering some of their most technically demanding runs. Greenway stomped a switch left-18 stale for a score of 76.60 which put him into 23rd place and McCormick followed closely behind with a switch right dub-18 tail, bagging him 26th place with a score of 74.50.
On the snowboard side, Maisie Hill impressed with a huge frontside 1080, while Katie Ormerod put down a clean Cab-9 and backside-7. Txema Mazet-Brown, meanwhile, came narrowly short of landing his Cab triple-16 indy in qualifiers.
More podiums followed at the ‘Rock A Rail’ Europa Cup in Latvia as Ella Hall secured her first win in the women’s ski category, building on her third place in Innsbruck last week. Mia Langridge produced another standout performance and backed-up last week’s podium with another silver medal in the women’s snowboard category, with British athletes proving major contenders on the rail-jam circuit.
Double Para-Snowboard World Cup in Landgraaf
The Para Snowboard World Cup season kicked off with back-to-back Banked Slalom races in Langraaf. Ollie Hill delivered two excellent runs in the LL2 category, securing a pair of 5th place finishes with a best time of 38.22.
Matt Hamilton also produced consistent results in the UL category with two 14th place results, while Nina Sparks placed 11th on the first day of competition, before a DNF on day two.
Musgrave and Clugnet return to WC action in Ruka
Andrew Musgrave and James Clugnet both made a double appearance at the Cross-Country World Cup in Ruka for their first World Cup of the season. Musgrave opened with a 26th place in the Interval Start Classic before pushing into the top 20 in the 20km Mass Start Free. Clugnet delivered 42nd in the Mass Start Free and 49th in the Sprint Final Classic respectively.
Steudle continues return from injury in Copper Mountain
Roy Steudle also made his first World Cup appearance of the season over in Copper Mountain finishing 66th as he builds momentum ahead of his next start in Beaver Creek tomorrow.
Header image: Li Runsheng
The 2025/26 winter season continued to build momentum this week as British athletes delivered impressive performances across Alpine, Park and Pipe and Cross Country with much more to come as the winter unfolds.
breaking records on the world cup start list
Following last weekend’s historic showing in Levi for the Alpine Slalom World Cup, the British men’s team returned for their second race of the World Cup circuit in Gurgl for another highly competitive slalom event.
Billy Major delivered the standout British result of the day, skiing with pace and confidence to secure 17th place. His slick second run showcased the form he has carried into the early season and marks another strong World Cup finish to build on as the season progresses.
Dave Ryding, competing in his final race in Gurgl took to the start gate in a resort that has supported him for 8 years, delivered a 25th place finish that keeps him firmly within the World Cup points as the season unfolds.
Laurie Taylor fresh off a career-best 4th place in Levi, battled through tight margins and difficult conditions to finish 33rd.
Gurgl was, again, a history defining race for our athletes as, for the first time ever, Britain left with three athletes ranked in the top 30 of the World Cup start list.
It was also an Alpine race weekend for the Carrick-Smith brothers on the Europa Cup circuit, as Zak, Freddy and Luca took on the men’s slalom in Storklinten, Sweden. Despite strong intent from the trio, it was a challenging day on a demanding set, with Zak and Freddy enduring difficult first runs to leave them outside the qualification spots, while Luca recorded a DNF as he skied out mid-course.
Weather plays havoc with Stubai schedule
Poor weather and challenging conditions saw disruption and cancellations at the Stubai Freeski Slopestyle World Cup, with the men’s competition nixed in the face of dangerous winds throughout the weekend, and the women’s competition reduced to qualification round only. Caoimhe Heavey and Ash Clayton each looked at home in a highly competitive international field, with Heavey finishing 22nd and Clayton 30th, both continuing their progress on the World Cup stage.
On the Rail Jam scene, it was a standout weekend for snowboarder Mia Langridge, who claimed second place at Snowfest in Innsbruck, showcasing her technical and creative rail skills. The win further cements Mia’s status as an exciting young British freestyle talent, while in the ski competition, Ella Hall’s third place finish marked another impressive moment in the young Brit’s international career.
Cross-Country team tunes up ahead of World Cup season
Over in Norway, rising cross-country athlete Tabitha Williams produced an excellent early-season performance, finishing 25th in a strong field in Beitosølen for the women’s 10km Interval Start Free. Against multiple World Cup and Olympic-level athletes, Tabby’s result highlights her continued upward trajectory and marks another positive step in her international development. In the men’s 1.3km Sprint Classic, James Clugnet finished in 33rd spot, while the weekend’s best result fell to veteran figurehead Andrew Musgrave, who came in in 17th place.
Private Equity Growth Investor ramp up support to Men’s Slalom World Cup team
Tenzing, a leading growth equity investor, has today been announced as GB Snowsport’s Principal Alpine Discipline Partner for the 2025/26 season.
The announcement, which follows a best-ever opening to the Slalom season for British athletes, will see Tenzing provide extensive financial support to athletes competing for Britain at the highest level of Alpine skiing, while also contributing to efforts aimed at building a more sustainable future for the sport’s up-and-coming British talent.
With a proud track record of supporting British Alpine skiing in recent years, Tenzing’s confirmation as Principal Alpine Partner to GB Snowsport will ensure the Men’s Alpine Slalom World Cup team of Billy Major, Dave Ryding, and Laurie Taylor are fully funded through the 2025/26 season – with an intention to provide the platform to ensure the team are well-placed to succeed in the build up to, and at, the Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February.
Announcing the partnership, Guy Gillon, Co-Founder and CEO of Tenzing, said:
“We’re thrilled to be the Principal Alpine Partner for GB Snowsport for the 2025/26 season. This partnership is centered around our Cultural Rocks – being human, super ambitious, innovative, and a high-performance team – values we proudly share with GB Snowsport and the Alpine World Cup Slalom team.
“At Tenzing, our mission is to help ambitious people and businesses reach their summit. The team’s determination and drive embody the spirit we champion.”
Vicky Gosling, GB Snowsport Chief Executive, added:
“The entire team at Tenzing have shown clearly their belief in what British Alpine skiing can be, and we are thrilled to have their support coming into this crucial season.
“Over recent years, British Alpine skiers have defied expectations time and again and shown that they rightfully belong at the very highest echelons of the sport. Tenzing’s support this season provides that further impetus to help our Alpine athletes fulfil their formidable potential on the biggest stages.”
World Cup squad member, Dave Ryding, said:
“After many difficult years financially, even while delivering strong performances, it means so much to finally have support that gives this team stability. It allows us to reach our full potential as we head towards our most exciting Olympic Games yet. This team is stronger than ever. Thank you to Tenzing for giving us this vital support.”
Fellow World Cup squad athlete, Billy Major, said:
“Tenzing has been integral to this team and a personal sponsor of mine for three years. I’m immensely grateful to Guy and his team for their belief and support, which allows us to go out and fight, day after day, against the biggest ski nations in the world.”
The Alpine Slalom World Cup season continues this weekend in Gurgl, before moving to Val d’sere on 14 December.
Header Image: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
Levi Slalom sees Brits lay down a marker with lifetime best for Laurie Taylor
A first weekend of action in the 2025/26 season for GB Snowsport World Cup squad athletes saw the Men’s Alpine Slalom team make history not once, but twice, with a career-best performance from Laurie Taylor the clear highlight.
The weekend’s action had already guaranteed historic status with the news that Britain would enter four athletes into an Alpine World Cup race for the first time in history as Luca Carrick-Smith lined up to make his debut alongside the regular Slalom World Cup team of Taylor, Billy Major, and Dave Ryding. But by the time the race concluded, Britain had two athletes in the top-10 for only the second time in Men’s Alpine World Cup history and three in the top-30 as the team excelled at the first Slalom race of the year.
Taylor’s performance was the clear highlight, with the 29-year-old producing a blistering second run, the fastest in the field, to catapult himself from 15th position at the turn to the leader’s chair. With one racer left on course, Taylor remained in the podium positions, only to be nudged out by 0.04s, nevertheless claiming the best result of his World Cup career.
Earlier, Dave Ryding kicked off the first race of his final season on the World Cup tour with a typically gritty performance which saw the veteran cruise into the top-10 for a seventh placed finish, just over 0.50s behind Taylor. Billy Major, meanwhile, looked in solid early season form to finish 27th for his sixth top-30 placing since the beginning of last season.
In the first action of the weekend, Victoria Palla made the ninth start of her World Cup career, finishing outside of the second run qualification spots but gaining valuable experience as she looks to build on the impressive showing she made at the Alpine World Championships last winter.
Header Image: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
Opening Slalom World Cup of season will see four British men in start gate
Luca Carrick-Smith is set to become Britain’s latest World Cup debutant at this weekend’s Levi Slalom World Cup. 20-year-old Luca will be the second Carrick-Smith to stand in the World Cup starting gate this season after brother Freddy’s World Cup debut in the Soelden GS in October.
After a rapid rise through the ranks, Luca saw a series of breakthrough performances last season crowned by a remarkable third place finish in the Alpine World Junior Championships Slalom, while he also recorded podium finishes at National Championships, National Junior Championships, FIS, and National Junior race levels across the first three months of 2025.
Luca’s debut will see him compete alongside the established British Alpine Men’s World Cup Slalom team of Dave Ryding, Billy Major, and Laurie Taylor whose collective performances have catapulted British Alpine skiing to new levels over the past three years.
The Levi Men’s Slalom World Cup is scheduled for Sunday 16 November, with the first run set to begin at 9am UK time.
Everyone at GB Snowsport would like to congratulate Luca on his impending World Cup debut.