Science of skiing

Learning to juggle and swivel your hips with a hoola-hoop may not seem the most conventional way to reach the pinnacle of your sport.

But British skier Chemmy Alcott is convinced it will help her achieve her goal of Olympic medal success.

And she is ready to put it to the test with the opening race of the World Cup season, a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, on Saturday.

She told BBC Sport: "I haven't felt this good going into a season for a long time which is great."

Alcott has spent the summer undergoing physical and mental tests and training in Austria, Argentina and Britain in an attempt to break into the world's top 10.

The 25-year-old had a breakthrough season last year when she halved her world ranking despite coming to terms with the death of her mother.

Alcott also missed pre-season because she underwent foot surgery.

"I only had eight days skiing before the first race so we had no gauge where we were at. I was quite surprised by how well things went."

She is currently ranked 32nd in the world overall - 21st in giant slalom, 27th in downhill and 33rd in super-G.

But she is hoping for much more this season and revealed that a chat with Sir Clive Woodward - the British Olympic Association's performance director - opened her eyes to the science of the sport.

"I thought I was doing everything an elite athlete can do but Sir Clive broadened my horizons, mentioned there were other things I could do to become the best and he told me to look outside the box," she said.

Woodward meticulously planned England's triumph in the 2003 Rugby World Cup and provided players with an abundance of experts to call upon.

And Alcott has managed to secure extra funding to be able to employ people to analyse her skiing as well as her diet, health and well-being. Everything from sleep patterns to what she was eating and when.

"I felt as though I was in a Big Brother box this summer. The guys in the team now know everything about me they need to know!" she said.

"It's just making the most of what I eat and when I eat it and knowing what supplements I need to take."

Alcott admitted she had not taken any supplements, including vitamins, for years since colleague Alain Baxter was stripped of his Olympic bronze after the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The Scot failed a drugs test when an American version of a Vicks nasal inhaler contained a trace of a banned substance not found in the British version.

Alcott said: "With Alain's scare a few years ago, I've been very much an extremist with what I consume, I was paranoid about what would happen."

Another area Alcott has focused on is her feet.

She has had to learn to feel them again as before having foot surgery in 2006, she had to switch off the pain while racing.

It got that bad she could not even tell if she was walking on concrete or grass.

So during the summer, sensors were placed in her boots to help diagnose where the pressure was being exerted.

And along with gym work, which included juggling and hula-hooping, it helped Alcott improve the responses between her brain and her feet.

"It has benefited me massively," she said.

"It's like skiing in colour now as opposed to black and white!"

But the proof will be when she heads out of the start gate on Saturday.

"I came back from Argentina having had a great camp, talking it up everywhere I went but then realised I was putting a lot of pressure on myself," Alcott said.

"But I am physically and mentally ready but we will just have to wait and see how the first races go."

Alcott's main ambition is to be on the podium at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver but she is aiming for another leap up the rankings this season.

"I definitely don't want to end this season in the same position as last season, even though it was amazing.

"I think there's a natural progression you aim to make every year and with three years until the next Olympics I am where I want to be."

Source: BBC Sport