Dave Ryding supported by Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson ahead of Beijing 2022 slalom

It's 'do or die' time for Dave Ryding at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

The alpine ski veteran made history by winning Britain's first ever World Cup race right before Beijing and now the pressure is even more intense with Team GB failing to win a medal at the Games so far.

'The Rocket' might be 35, but says he feels 25, and an iconic first ever-alpine ski Olympic medal is up for grabs on Wednesday (16 February).

His rise from a dry slope in Pendle, Lancashire, to World Cup winner and Olympic contender sounds more like a rejected Ken Loach script than reality.

Team GB's flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony will compete in what is arguably the most open slalom in Olympic history, with six different winners in the six World Cup slaloms held so far.

And Ryding has improved steadily at each of his four Olympics so far: 27th at Vancouver 2010, 17th at Sochi 2014 and ninth in Pyeongchang four years ago.

"I have whittled it down to ninth, let's whittle it down some more if I can," he said.

"It will be do or die, anything can happen."

And he's taken plenty of inspiration from many different sports for very different reasons:

Andy Murray, Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer for their longevity at the top of the world of tennis, Eddie the Eagle for how far British Winter Olympics has come since then, and from Liverpool FC captain Jordan Henderson, who sent him a video message ahead of race day in China.

Henderson is a bit busy between mounting a Premier League title challenge and a massive UEFA Champions League tie against Inter Milan, but still managed to send Dave Ryding a few words before the skier's big day in China.

"I just wanted to send you a quick message to say big congratulations on the win and all the very best in