Alex Astridge hopes to inspire younger generation representing UAE at Olympics

He learned to ski inside a giant shopping mall and next month will become the first man from United Arab Emirates to take to the Winter Olympic slopes.

The route plotted by British-born Alex Astridge all the way to the Games in Milan and Cortina is one that makes Dave Ryding’s rise from a dry slope in Pendle appear positively alpine by comparison.

Jostle past 600 retail outlets offering everything from Rolex watches to luxury lingerie and you reach Ski Dubai, perched atop the mighty Mall of the Emirates and complete with its own 85-metre high indoor mountain.

It’s where Astridge, who was born in Cambridge but moved to the Emirates capital within six months and has called the city home all his life, started his highly improbable journey towards Winter Olympic qualification.

“I started skiing at Ski Dubai when I was three years old, and the Olympics was always a dream for me,” Astridge, who will compete in the men’s slalom, told Press Association Sport.

“The dream lasted until I was 14, when the UAE Winter Sports Federation was created. Suddenly it was no longer a dream, it was something I thought I could do, and ever since then I have been working towards it.”

Skiing down a 16-second indoor course has its benefits. Astridge can repeat scores of runs in a single session, working to correct mistakes and relying on stable conditions, kept just above freezing, without fear of weather-induced cancellations.

“I don’t think it’s as big a disadvantage as people think,” added Astridge. “There’s a lot of nations who have qualified athletes without mountains or indoor slopes. Sure, there are a few disadvantages, but the only reason I was able to get where I have is Ski Dubai.”

UAE’s Winter Games debut – Astridge will by joined by Piera Hudson, who has qualified in the women’s event – comes four years after neighboring Saudi Arabia sent its first athlete, Fayik Abdi, to compete in the men’s giant slalom in Beijing.

Unlike the UAE, whose geography precludes any outdoor expansion, Saudi Arabia has made bold claims of a long-term goal of hosting the Games in a mountainous stretch of its north-western border.

Nevertheless, the logistical challenge is evident, and even the Saudis have been forced to admit temporary defeat, withdrawing this week from hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games due to the enormous costs involved.

Astridge, who will go to Italy as an inspiration to the over 200 young alpine skiers who currently train at the unlikely resort, says he never had any thought of pursuing participation as part of the country of his birth.

“I’ve spent my life in the UAE, and you’re told when you’re a kid that you should represent your home country,” said the 19-year-old, who is in the second year of a degree in international business management at Heriot Watt Dubai.

“The UAE is the only home I’ve ever known. It was where I was raised, where I went to school, and where I went to ski. It’s the only flag I want to raise high.

“I love getting involved with the kids who are starting out. I want them to know that it is possible, it’s not just a hobby that you do until you quit. There’s a pathway in place for all of them and they can do it if they’re good enough. For them, skiing in the Olympics is no longer a fairytale.”