TALK of the Winter Olympics has followed Dave Ryding across the globe this season.

The slalom ski star has enjoyed another successful season on the World Cup circuit but it was Pyeongchang that people wanted to talk about.

The Chorley ace has an outside medal shot and the prospect of being on the podium has been a constant point of interest to many.

Ryding himself understandably wanted to concentrate on the races at hand but now his focus is fully on South Korea.

On the eve of the men’s slalom, the East Lancashire skier believes he can challenge the world’s best as he gets set to compete in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“When I have been racing this year I haven’t been thinking about the Olympics but you can tell when it is an Olympic year, every interview you give has questions about it in,” the 31-year-old said.

“But it hasn’t been taking over for me, I have been focussing on the World Cup and one race at a time.”

Ryding is competing in his third Winter Olympics and is well placed to better the 17th place of four years ago.

He was 27th in 2010, when he also competed in the Giant Slalom, finishing 47th, and believes those past experiences can stand him in good stead when he once again flies the flag for Britain this time around.

“I have been to the Olympics before and I am certainly not going there not knowing what to expect,” he added.

“Hopefully that will help me because it is different and maybe a few of the rookies will not have that experience and it can play into my hands.”

Austrian superstar Marcel Hirscher has dominated the slalom this season with Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen hot on his heels.

Hirscher won six of the eight World Cup races while Kristoffersen, who has one victory, has been on the podium at every event.

Unsurprisingly, the battle for gold is expected to be between those two heavyweights.

Ryding agrees. He said: “I have never beaten Marcel in a slalom race before, I did knock him out of the parallel competition which was a good feeling.

“He has won a lot of slalom competitions and Kristofferson has been on the podium on all of them so they will be the main two to watch.”

Behind the dominant duo the field is more open and Ryding will be hoping to capitalise after another strong season on the international circuit.

He is 10th in the World Cup standings and was on course to win the opening World Cup of the season in Levi late last year when he held a lead of more than half a second before crashing out.

Last season was Ryding’s breakthrough year with the 31-year-old finishing second in a World Cup event in Austria, equalling Konrad Batelski’s record for the best-ever finish by British racer.

And although he hasn’t quite scaled those heights this time around, Ryding has been consistent and admits he is taking more risks in the quest for victory.

“I’ve had an up and down season,” he said.

“I think I have had nine top 10s this season so my performances are going in the right direction.

“I am taking more risks to get better results and sometimes it doesn’t come off.

“My best result in the World Cup this season is sixth.

“I think because I had such a good season last year and got that podium that I am a bit disappointed with this season.

“I was hoping to be able to kick on again but it hasn’t quite happened. If before last season you had offered me the results I have had this season I would have been delighted but I wanted to improve on last season. That is easier said than done though and you can’t keep a positive trend up all the time.”

It will be a first trip to South Korea for Ryding and he has spent the past 10 days getting used to his surroundings.

He added: “I have never been to South Korea before, my girlfriend will be there working for Dutch TV so I won’t see much of her as we will both be busy but it is good to have her out there.

“I want to do as well as I can, you do think about getting a medal but there a lot of talented skiers there and we will just have to see who is the best on the day.

“I will do my best and ski as loose as I can.”

Ryding begins his bid for a medal at 1am on Thursday morning UK time when the men’s slalom gets underway. The second run starts at 4.30am and finishes at around 6.10am.