By Megan Armitage

Dave 'the Rocket' Ryding has seen a lot of change in the last three years but it is not stopping him from aiming for a fifth Olympic Games at Milano Cortina 2026.

Britain's most successful skier of all time, Ryding still refuses to slow down at age 38. He admitted that there has been no surprise in his continued success at his age, he's just good at skiing.

Instead, the surprise this season came in how well he was doing on new equipment, having kicked off his season with seventh, eighth and ninth-place finishes despite a recent change in skis.

"I completely switched my equipment to the company HEAD this season," he said.

"Skis and boots are really an extension to your body, you've got to really feel what's going on throughout the whole ski.

"So, it's relearning the different feels and lines that you have to take.

"I was really surprised at the start of the season how well I was doing but it's about making the equipment work on all conditions.

"I'm still tweaking a few things but it's coming along nicely."

An equipment change isn't the only thing that Ryding has had added to his life since the last Olympic Games.

The downhill skier became a father for the first time in 2022 and now has his wife and daughter Nina's support spurring him on.

It has meant that Ryding has slightly adapted his training to make sure he can spend as much time with his family as possibly before heading back to the slopes.

And as his wife and daughter make the journey to come and cheer him on during the World Cup circuit, Ryding admitted that having them there is something of a calming effect.

He said: "The best thing I did was slightly change my summer training schedule and really focus on the physical side which I can do out of my own house in the UK and means I can spend a lot of time with my family.

"Then from September 1st I go back to the job on the road.

"Being a father has given me a whole new perspective to life and when I speak to her in the between runs it's a real calming effect for me honestly.

"I've focussed on being as fit as I can be every year this cycle and that's what I've really enjoyed doing."

Ryding is currently gearing up for an incredible eighth World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, where he has aims of bettering his best finish of ninth at the event.

Headlining a 14-strong British alpine team, Ryding competes on February 15 and the four-time Olympian continues to amaze with his continued skill on the slopes after so many years.

And when it comes to his own performances, he's not putting any boundaries on what he can achieve.

"In the last three years since Beijing 2022, I've done really well on living in the moment rather than a four-year cycle," he said.

"I was 35 at the last Olympics and it's an unknown entity as to where I'll be on a yearly basis, so I think that mentality is what has enabled me to go all in for each 12 months.

"I want to know that I've left everything out on the slope that day.

"It's not something I've always managed to do during World Champs, but I want to go there thinking this is the last one, which it probably is for me, even though I thought the same at the last one we had.

"It's about taking care of my performance and knowing I've gone all in and see where it puts me. I want to put out a really good performance for once."