World Cup Men’s Slalom: GB’s Lori Taylor in 4th and Levy’s Dave Riding in 7th

Britain’s Laurie Taylor claimed a career-best fourth place in the opening men’s slalom of the World Cup season in Levi as the British team produced their joint-best performance in the event’s history.

Taylor, 29, led for most of the second round in Finland before narrowly missing out on the top spot on the podium, while veteran Dave Riding finished seventh as Team GB achieved two top-10 finishes in a World Cup event for only the second time.

The opening men’s slalom of the season was won by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who claimed his sixth career World Cup win and Brazil’s first representative, after moving from Norway in 2024.

Taylor was 15th after the first run but put pressure on the leaders with the fastest second run, finishing with an overall time of 1 minute 51.33 seconds – 0.31 seconds ahead of Pinheiro Brathen, who was fastest in the first leg.

Frenchman Noel Clement took second place, while Finnish Edward Hallberg climbed to the podium for the first time in his career, beating Taylor to third place by only 0.04 seconds.

“It was an amazing feeling, I had no idea where I would end up,” Taylor told BBC Sport.

“I felt strong and powerful running. I kept climbing [in the standings] It was completely surreal. It’s a big confidence boost for the rest of the season.

“I’ve worked hard for a long time, so to break into fourth place like that really means the world.”

Commenting on the team’s overall performance, Great Britain men’s slalom coach Jay Geier said: “What a day.

“This is the best start to the season we’ve had as a team, with something we’ve never done before here – two top seven finishes – so we’re all excited, and that’s great for the team. What a strong start.”

It was a great step forward in Taylor’s career, his previous best World Cup finish being eighth in Aspen in March 2024.

Riding, a former World Cup slalom winner, 38, also finished seventh in that race – the only other time the British team has had two top 10 finishes in a World Cup event.

Levy was also the first time the British team had entered four skiers in a World Cup race, with Billy Major (27th) and Luca Carrick-Smith (DNF) also competing.

The race was also Brazil’s first World Cup win.

Pinheiro Braathen won the all-around slalom title in 2023 while representing Norway, but then stepped away from the sport for a year and returned last season to compete for Brazil, his mother’s native country.