By Anna Thompson

Whelan and Sarsfield celebrate their podium success in Chapelco

British ski cross racer Peter Whelan got his season off to a great start with a win in a race in South America.

Whelan was competing at Chapelco in Argentina alongside a number of Winter Olympic racers.

The 21-year-old finished first and second in two South America Cup races, the level below World Cup standard.

He said: "It was an amazing day and a good start for the 2011 season beating Davey Barr [who finished sixth in the Winter Olympic Games]."

Ski cross made its Winter Olympic debut at the 2010 Games and was an instant hit as Switzerland's Michael Schmid and Canadian home favourite Ashleigh McIvor took gold.

Whelan, from Uxbridge, who only broke into the British ski cross team in January added: "The results have given me confidence for the upcoming World Cup season."

His British team-mate Emily Sarsfield also had a fine start, registering a third and fourth place.

She just missed out on a Winter Olympic call-up for Vancouver after battling back from a serious knee injury in 2009.

606: DEBATE It's a great start to the season for them as they build up for the World Cup Anna Thompson - BBC Sport

"After such a difficult 2010, missing out on the Olympics, I can't wait for the start of the 2011 World Cup season in December but in the mean time I have a few things to work on which will improve my race technique," Sarsfield, from Durham, stated.

The World Cup season kicks off on 18 December in Innichen/San Candido in Italy.

Meanwhile, British snowboard cross racer Zoe Gillings, who finished eighth in Vancouver despite injuring her knee during the event, is hopeful of being fit for her first race of the season in Telluride, in the United States, in December.

Gillings had to have keyhole surgery on her left knee after damaging cartilage and stretching the ligament but is back training at the English Institute of Sport in Bath.

She said: "At least I got injured during the Olympics and not the competition before. The operation went really well and my knee is nearly back to normal."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version