Q&A with....Zoe Gillings

ZOE Gillings is considered one of Britain’s brightest medal hopes with just over 100 days to go until next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

HOPEFUL: Snowboarder Zoe Gillings, who competes in the thrills and spills boarder cross discipline, is currently ranked fifth in the world

While fellow Isle of Man resident Mark Cavendish has been hogging the headlines in 2009, Gillings believes now is her chance to win.

Here she is in conversation with Sportsbeat’s Holly Hamilton. 

Q - With Vancouver 2010 on the horizon, this is obviously a very important season for you. You've had one competition before an extended break, how did that go?

A - I've just come back from Argentina where I had a frustrating time. Lindsey Jacobellis falling in front of me was very annoying and that unpredictability is the worst thing about my event.

It's frustrating when you are riding fine and something else happens to make you lose your control.

It's good in a way because it makes the event more exciting but as a competitor it means things can happen out of your control.

These things happen quite often in my sport and you need to be able to just get on with it and move on.

At the moment I'm enjoying spending some time in the UK and I have another two weeks here which is the end of my dry land training.

I'm doing fitness work in the gym which is such hard work and means my body is killing me at the moment.

Q- And then when does competition kick in again?

A - In two weeks time I go out to Austria or Switzerland depending on where the best snow is and then I'll be training there until the next World Cup event out in Telluride, Colorado in mid-December.

I've competed before in Telluride, I was there about three years ago and I remember being there for the World Junior Championships when I was 13 but I don't relish the memories as I broke my collarbone before the event even started.

I'm looking forward to competing there and I want to get rid of those memories from my injury all those years ago.

The track is only built a few weeks before the event so it's impossible to know what to expect. It can differ drastically because various people design it each time so it will be very different to when I was there last.

Q - Do the tracks differ depending on where they are in the world?

A - Usually the American tracks are fairly big and long with large jumps so they end up being great spectacles.

They don't focus too much on technical little features, those tend to be reserved for the European tracks. It also depends on how much snow falls in the lead up to the competition.

EASY RIDER: Zoe Gillings believes the North American style tracks suit her style - which bodes well for Vancouver (Getty Images)

Q - Vancouver 2010 must be the priority for this season. Is it difficult not to get too pre-occupied with it?

A - This season all the World Cup events in the run up to the Olympics are essentially training competitions.

They are important within themselves because I want to do as well as possible in every competition I take part in but this year the main focus is the Olympics.

I aim to get a good few days riding on the course, be able to check out the competition and get some good training in.

It will also be important for my confidence to get a result, ideally a podium.

It's really important not to peak too soon and I've been doing a lot of work on how I'm going to maintain my form throughout the season. February is a good time to hold the Olympics because it's mid-way through the season.

You need to get all your fitness right so you peak at exactly the right point. If the Olympics were at the end of the season it would be a lot tougher so I'm pleased with the scheduling.

Q - And what are your hopes for Vancouver. You're ranked fifth in the world so do you believe a medal is a realistic possibility?

A - My top priority for Vancouver is to get a medal. With the unpredictability of boarder cross no one can say that they are definitely going to get a medal and if anyone does then it's a lie.

I think I have the skill and capability to get a medal so I'm going to train as hard as I can and then prepare as much as I can up to the day.

I'm going to Calgary in Canada first for a British Olympics Association holding camp and then I go to Vancouver at the beginning of February for my final preparations.

 Q - And what do you think of Great Britain's chances in Vancouver as a whole. In Turin Team GB came home with one medal, can that be surpassed?

A - As a team we probably have more potential for Sochi 2014 than for Vancouver but we do have a good team going next year and it will be really interesting to see how everyone does.

Team GB as a whole have good medal prospects with events like the bobsleigh and skeleton as there are a lot of talented people coming through.

I've been based in Bath for the summer and some of the bobsleigh and skeleton athletes are based there so I see them a lot and have some good friends. I'll definitely be watching them in Vancouver after my event has finished.

Q - A sport like yours obviously has its dangers. Have you had any horrific injuries across your career?

A - I shattered my left foot about four years ago and that is always going to cause me trouble, instead of lots of little bones it has just got one big lump of bone so it doesn't flex right and that hurts a lot when I'm riding. 

I can ice it after a ride to help the pain and I know when it's going to hurt so it's a bit more bearable. Because I know what to expect it's not as bad. The rest of my body is okay at the moment, my right heel is still a bit iffy but hopefully that should be cleared up by February.

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Zoe Gillings starts her World Cup season in December but it's next February's Winter Olympics in Vancouver that remains the aim

Q - Recently Snowsport GB have been going through some difficult financial times. How much harder has that made it to realise your goals for the season?

A - Due to the lack of funding it has been a pretty difficult summer and it's not just me it's all the skiers and snowboarders who have been affected but we are all pretty tough so we are getting through it.

Some good things have come out of it - I've now got a really good relationship with UK Sport and the British Olympic Association.

They are both helping me out a lot and I was able to start my training program from scratch and get it the way I want to run it. I'm in charge of how it runs now and it's more specialised towards me.

But it hasn't been ideal, the funding I've finally got for this season isn't much but hopefully it will just about cover the basics so it should work out OK.

I think that's where sponsors come in, my main sponsor has helped me out loads over the summer and without people like them I wouldn't have a chance to compete.

You need a combination of government funding and sponsors because there is no way you could do it just relying on government money.

Q - There's just under 1000 days until London 2012 and as we get closer a huge amount of media attention is going to be going towards the summer sports. Is that a hindrance for winter sports?  

A - So much money is going towards athletes for 2012 and it's a shame we miss out so much.

The calculation is something like one percent of British funding support goes to winter sports.

It's ridiculous when you consider that just to compete in winter sports you need to travel out of the country to train so already the costs are high and we get less money than other sports.

But then again there are less people who compete in winter sports and we aren't a winter sports nation so you can understand it from that point of you.

Q - There aren't that many places in the UK where you can compete on natural snow but do you think the artificial facilities can produce some Olympic champions in the future?

A - I think the snow domes across the UK are good for young kids. I always tell people to spend time learning to snowboard there, have lessons and get over the initial tricky part.

The first few days you just fall over constantly, that can be discouraging if you're away on holiday and don't have many days and it could put you off the sport.

You can't do major training in the snow domes but you can learn technique at least and at the end of the day it's important to have fun doing so some could be inspired.

* Zoe Gillings is supported by Poker Stars, Sno! Zone, BMW and British Airways. To find out more visit www.zoe.org.im