Meet Team GBs Fastest Skiers

Words: Matt Garcka

The world’s fastest skiers have descended on Saalbach for the 2025 World Ski Championships, and Team GB is turning up in record numbers. Fourteen athletes (eight men, six women) are set to battle it out across six disciplines, making this the biggest alpine squad Britain has ever sent.

With record-breaking crowds expected (Austria’s first World Championships since Schladming 2013) the atmosphere is electric. Saalbach is primed for a fortnight of high-octane racing, so let’s meet the Brits looking to make their mark. No favourites here so our list runs alphabetically…

Reece Bell | Slalom | 23

The name might ring a bell, she’s the daughter of British speed legend Martin Bell. Reece has already started two World Cup slaloms this season and raced at the 2023 World Champs. This time, she’s gunning for a top-30 finish.

Abi Bruce | Slalom | 24

The eldest of the women’s squad but the least experienced at this level, Bruce is making her World Cup debut. She trained with Ski Race Leitner Academy which is the same academy that produced former GS World Cup champion Kalle Pallander.

Molly Butler | GS | Slalom | Team Parallel | 18

“I’m just really excited to be around people who are passionate about the same thing as me.” Butler turned 18 last summer, made her Europa Cup debut earlier this season, and is already ticking off a childhood dream by racing at Worlds. A future British ski racing star? Watch this space.

Giselle Gorringe | Team Parallel | Super-G | GS | Downhill | 21

The busiest racer on the team, Gorringe is competing in the most disciplines. A South American champion in Argentina and Chile last summer, she’s taking this event as a stepping stone to bigger things. Her goal? Be a true all-rounder.

Lois Jackson | Team Parallel | GS | 23

Raised on the dry slopes of Silksworth in the northeast, Jackson has been training in Austria with Team Evolution since 2014. She competed in last month’s World University Games and is ready to soak up the Saalbach energy and “enjoy the moment”.

Jack Irving | GS | 19

Born in Florida, raised in Austria (just 20 minutes from Saalbach), Irving is the youngest British male racer. He’ll have to qualify for the GS main event, but representing his dad’s nation on home snow? That’s special.

Calum Langmuir | Team Parallel | GS | Slalom | 22

Second World Championships for Langmuir, who placed 38th in Super-G last time. After crashing out of the Team Parallel with serious style, we’re excited to see what he can lay down in the GS and the Slalom.

Billy Major | Slalom | 28

Britain’s No. 3 in slalom, Major scored World Cup points in Adelboden, Wengen, and Kitzbühel last month. He’s no stranger to the big stage, competing in his fourth World Champs and aiming to improve on his 28th-place finish from 2023.

Victoria Palla | Slalom | 24

Raised in Austria’s Zell am See, Palla has the most World Cup starts of any British woman on the team (seven). She missed recent World and Europa Cup races but is on the brink of a breakthrough – could this be her moment?

Dave Ryding | Slalom | 38

The GOAT of British ski racing. Dubbed a ‘national hero’ by his teammates, Ryding is Britain’s best medal hope. No podiums this season yet, but with seven World Cup podiums in the past (including that legendary Kitzbühel win) he’s still got fire in his skis. This could be his ninth and final World Champs.

Dominic Shackleton | GS | 20

Britain’s No. 2 GS skier, Shackleton is fresh from America’s NCAA circuit, where he races for Middlebury College. He had to skip his home NCAA event to take this World Champs spot, an unexpected but “really cool” opportunity.

Roy Steudle | Super-G | Downhill | 31

Britain’s best speed skier, Steudle just missed out on World Cup points in the Kitzbühel Super-G. He’s operating outside the British federation but is looking to prove his worth on the world stage.

Laurie Taylor | Slalom | 28

Taylor tied for 16th with Ryding in the Kitzbühel slalom last month and bagged a top-10 finish in Aspen last year. He first raced at Worlds in 2017 and is eyeing his first top-30 finish this time around.

Owen Vinter | Team Parallel | Super-G | GS | 23

The men’s squad’s jack-of-all-trades. Vinter grew up racing with Glasgow Ski Team and was part of the 2023 Worlds squad in Courchevel and Méribel. He’ll be proudly flying the Scottish flag in Saalbach.

This squad represents the next step in British ski racing, blending veteran experience with fresh talent. With 18-year-old Molly Butler making her Worlds debut and 38-year-old Dave Ryding potentially racing his last, these Championships might just show that Team GB’s best is yet to come.

For all your ski racing news, and interviews with the top athletes, head over to Matt’s podcast, Skiing Is Believing.