By Anna Thompson BBC Sport in Les Deux Alpes

Steve Trolland and Zoe Gillings

Olympic hopeful Zoe Gillings was a class above in the boardercross as the Orange British Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Championships got under way in the French Alps.

The 18-year-old blitzed the field in the senior women's class to take the title in Les Deux Alpes.

The youngster from the Isle of Man has just finished her first season on the World Cup circuit where she came a very encouraging eighth.

She qualified for the final of the Brits almost 10 seconds ahead of her rival Liz Osbourne, who finished second and Mollie Boys, who was third.

Boardercross involves four riders travelling down a twisting course over jumps, with the fastest through to the next round.

Gillings told BBC Sport: "I was overwhelming favourite to win but that meant there was an added pressure.

It's the first title I have won and it has given me a lot of confidence for the future Men's title winner James Trolland

"But I performed as I should have done and it was great to compete against British colleagues."

Gillings, who has been snowboarding since the age of 10, is gearing up for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Next season, she is hoping for a top five finish in the World Cup, which will stand her on good stead for an Olympic medal.

She added: "The Brits are totally different to the World Cup scene but I have enjoyed competing in both.

"I was third fastest overall in the men's and women's competitions which was probably a little embarrassing for the men but a great boost for me."

In the men's competition, the main title was won by Steve Trolland from Aviemore in Scotland .

The Great Britain development team member beat hot favourites James Foster and Bud Gallimore to the title.

The 30-year-old said: "James was the defending champion so when he went out in the semis I knew I was in with a good chance.

"It's the first title I have won and it has given me a lot of confidence for the future."

Results:

Senior men's:
1 Steven Trolland
2 Bud Gallimore
3 Chris Southwell

Senior women's:
1 Zoe Gillings
2 Liz Osbourne
3 Mollie Boys