Ritchie Captures Personal Best Seventh in Slalom Finale

In the final race of the World Cup season, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Ben Ritchie proved he belonged among the top slalom skiers as he knifed his way to seventh place - a personal best. 

“My biggest goal for the year was to qualify for finals,” said Ritchie. “So having it here in the U.S. and scoring this result makes it a little more special.”

It was a warm spring day in Sun Valley, Idaho for the finale of men’s ski racing. Globes, points and medals were on the line as the world’s best men finally had their chance to race on the Sun Valley slopes. On the first run, the set was open and fast - a welcome sight for the last push of the season. The tricky part of the race would be the snow conditions that turned very slushy and spring-like early on, making it an advantage for the skiers with low bib numbers. 

Ritchie, wearing bib 18, fought his way down to 15th on the first run. He knew he had more in him so he prepped to deliver on the second run. As Ritchie entered the starting gate, the crowd rose to their feet, ready to bring home the sole U.S. skier in the men’s slalom. Ritchie did not disappoint, skiing aggressively at each turn all the way to the finish to claim that leaderboard chair. He moved up eight positions to land his personal best of seventh place. 

“I was a little uncertain about the conditions and how it is super warm here,” said Ritchie. “I kind of skied tentatively on the first run and that fired me up to do better and take a little more risk on the second one.” 

Overall, it was a picture-perfect ending to a historic week in Sun Valley at the Stifel Sun Valley Finals event. Ritchie, a previous slalom Junior World Champion, has always been known to have speed in the discipline but had trouble performing on the World Cup—that is until the 2024-25 season. He scored personal best after personal best throughout the season with five top-15 results and three top-10s, enough to land him 17th in the slalom overall discipline rankings—an incredible leap from his placing of 41 just last season. 

The winner of the race was Norwegian Timon Haugan with Frenchman Clement Noel in second and Austrian Fabio Gstrein in third. The Crystal Globe slalom winner was ultimately awarded to Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen. 

RESULTS
Men's slalom