Ryan’s life-long passion for skiing began at the age of 3, on the slopes of Mont Blanc, north of Montreal. The first hint of something truly special occurred three years later at age 6, when he entered a local ski race and walked away with the best overall time and a cheque for $100.
In need of a bigger challenge, Ryan was encouraged to take on a larger mountain, and at age 11 found a new home base at Mont Tremblant, under the seasoned guidance of Conrad Guay. Ryan joined the company of Conrad’s son, Erik, and Julien Cousineau – 2 close friends who forced him to raise his game, and who would later go on to international success themselves.
Accomplishments came quickly for Ryan, with triumphs at Whistler Cup events and the famous Taschereau Cup, and by 2000, he had earned a spot on the National Ski Team.
The highs in Ryan’s career have been matched by some serious challenges, however: two major hip operations in the last two years have been a set-back, but the injuries have only strengthened Ryan’s resolve. When many others would have given up, Ryan is more determined than ever to stand on the podium. He trains around the world and lives out of his suitcase 9 months of the year in pursuit of his goal.
Last year, with the support of family and friends, Ryan competed across North America in the Noram ski series, earning World Cup eligibility in the Slalom and Super Combined divisions. His hard work and dedication paid off again when he rejoined the Canadian National Ski Team for the 2009 – 2010 season.
” My goal is to be consistently one of the top ten skiers on the world cup circuit for the next decade ” said Ryan in a recent interview.
Going fast is in Ryan’s blood, as reflected in his other passion: the National Ski Team frequently uses the racing car circuit to hone skiers’ skill sets, and Ryan now spends summer downtime instructing at local race tracks in Quebec and Ontario. A natural-born athlete, Ryan has easily taken to golf, surfing, basketball and fishing.
Ryan has proven himself to be focused, committed and determined to win. He is an engaging young man with a warm heart, contagious laugh and an easy smile.
Top of Vail
The Bird of Prey downhill start
Exciting Talon turn. During course inspection
I’m standing on the Golden Eagle jump, the section below is called the Abyss and has a big compression.
Finals words from Lake Louise
This year was my first time racing the Lake Louise WC downhill in Canada. Always a pleasure to compete at home, something we rarely get to do. Weather conditions have influenced past results, but this year things were fair. My training runs built confidence but unfortunately did not translate to the race. I was hoping to get some WC points but it was not my day! Congrats to Jan Hudec who is coming back from injury posting a 4th in Super-G and 12th in DH. Very respectable.
Off to Vail we go.
The Canadian Rockies can be such a nice place, especially when it’s not -35c.
The World Cup season has officially started.
Kind of a cool shot. This was heading to the hill for the first training run of the Lake Louise DH.
Just putting my tips out of the start gate. 40 cm of fresh snow made it hard for the course workers.
A day in the life of a skier racer
This is a little look into what we are up to in Colorado. It’s the last training camp of the year, racing is just around the corner! We are fine tuning equipment and finding ways to create more speed.
It’s that time again.
Just packing up for a 6.30 am flight to Colorado, nothing new in the life of a skier.
Racing season is no longer months away but days. The Men’s team is heading to Copper Mountain in Colorado to prepare. I won’t be home for some time so I’ll take a few extra hours to pack properly. Not my usual 2 hour cram scenario.
I’m PUMPED
Hintertux Austria
It took some time to get organized but I have some new pictures from our last snow camp in Hintertux. Days were lost due to weather but that seems to be the trend this time of year in Europe. The snow needs to come eventually. Enjoy..
I felt like a new person with all the different gear on. These goggles were wild.
It’s been a while since these pads have been on my legs. Day 1 in the books, so far so good. The Atomics, definitely some getting used to but I’m heading in the right direction. With a few testing sessions I should be able to dial it in for maximum performance.
This is all done on the iPhone, Tks Shane.
Inspecting the course first run of the day
Snow was a bit soft but after a few runs a nice groove developed.
Rad pic
Innsbruck
For the day off we decided to hit up Innsbruck. Very cool city surrounded by mountains. It was the perfect way to mentally disconnect from the daily training.