COLNE’S Beth Widdup believes hard hours in the gym over the summer will help her compete with Britain’s best after taking away a promising set of results from the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships.

World Cup stars Dave Ryding and Alex Tilley graced the slopes of Tignes last week – and Widdup proved she could well follow in their footsteps.

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The 19-year-old finished just outside the British Slalom medals in both the National Championships and National Junior Championships – finishing ninth and fifth respectively.

Those performances came off the back of a disappointing start to her week in the Giant Slalom as she failed to finish the second run, but Widdup admits she must get stronger in order to achieve her potential.

“My slalom in the National Championships definitely felt better than my first race of the week though the first run was a bit too cautious,” said Widdup.

“I just went for it in the second run and though it’s a shame I’ve just missed out on the podium, I’m feeling happier.

“I’ve finished now, so I’ll go home and start training ready for next year. I need to get a lot stronger so I’m just going to keep working and working, and toughen up.”

Following the success of the Great Britain team at Sochi 2014 and with the support of Snowsport England’s national participation campaign GO SKI GO BOARD, it has been a tremendous year for British winter sports.

More than 40,000 new people had taken at least one taster or coaching session by the end of last year.

In tricky conditions, which saw many British athletes crash out, Widdup abandoned her second run of the National Championships Giant Slalom race on Thursday and struggled to shake off a niggling wrist injury.

But she believes a little more adventure would have ultimately paid off.

“Thursday was not a good day, I didn’t ski the first run very well and I took the wrong line over the roll,” she added.

“I was a little cautious and a lot of people weren’t finishing the course, but it was too cautious - I was far too slow in the end.

“I hurt my wrist earlier in the week as well, I hit it on the base of a gate.”

  • As principal sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, Delancey is proud to be able to provide British Athletes with the support and training they require to continue to be a real force in winter sports on a world stage. Follow @teambss or visit www.teambss.org.uk and www.delancey.com