Bell celebrates skiercross title

By Graham Bell Five-time Olympic skier and Ski Sunday commentator

After an eight-year gap, I am officially a British ski champion again.

I am now the proud owner of the skiercross crown after winning the title at the Orange British Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Championships which are being held in Laax in Switzerland.

Although my Olympic and World Cup racing days are long over, I fancied my chances in the British Championships.

So I got my racing skis waxed at the Head ski factory to make sure they were fit for a frenetic battle over a course of twists, turns and jumps.

And the race was totally awesome.

I did two qualifying runs and won my heat quite easily but knew I was up against talented kids half my age in the final.

My race strategy was to hit the front and hopefully stay there but it did not quite work out that way.

Teenager Scott impressed Bell

A young pretender called Brad Scott, who is only 17, got off to a flier and I twice tried and failed to cut inside of him at corners.

I decided to carry my speed out of the final turn and by the last jump we were neck and neck but I had the better race line and just sneaked ahead of him at the finishing line.

It was a huge adrenalin rush and you never lose the exhilaration of winning - even if you are 39-years-old!

Skiercross is fabulous and although it is a recognised World Cup event it is not yet an Olympic sport but I think it should be.

Boardercross will be making its debut at the 2006 Winter Olympics so I don't see why skiercross cannot be recognised in time for the 2010 Games.

I may have competed in umpteen Olympics and World Championships but I have really enjoyed the Orange Brits because there is a great atmosphere at the events as well as a healthy competitive spirit among the contenders.

They are fantastically well organised and are really raising the freestyle stakes although I would like to see more skiers taking part.

It's a shame skiercross was not around in my racing days as I would have probably given up downhill racing to have a crack at it as it gives you a huge buzz.

Instead I'm quite content to bask in my title glory and will of course be back next year to defend my crown.

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Skiercross results:

Men

1 Graham Bell
2 Brad Scott
3 Robert Linsey

Women

1 Emily Sarsfield
2 Tessa Philip
3 Rebecca Hammond