Vanessa-Mae buoyed by British Champs experience
BySportsbeat
Published 25/03/2016 at 10:58 GMT
Superstar pop violinist and Winter Olympian Vanessa-Mae is convinced the experience she gained competing at the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships on Thursday will be hugely helpful for her skiing ambitions moving forward.
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Image credit: Eurosport
Racing in the Ladies National Championships Slalom under the name Vanessa Vanakorn, the 37-year-old joined the best of British alpine skiing at the Championships in the French resort of Tignes.
She crashed out towards the end of her second run as Delancey British Ski Team athlete Charlie Guest took the national title in a time of 1:34.10 minutes.
Vanessa-Mae – whose album sales number several million – competed in alpine skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi but admits she loved her experience at Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships.
"The British Championships are really cool. It is nice to be able to understand the language around me for once," she said.
"My partner is French and lives in Val d'Isere but I don't speak such good French, so it's nice to converse in English.
"The first run was so icy and I've never trained on ice but it was fun, good weather and a really nice atmosphere.
"I'm happy to be here and it's all about racking up experience – it's never too late to learn I think.
"I've not done too much competitive skiing this year really. I was in Thailand for a month in February but then jumped into some races where I DNFed.
"I just want to improve still because I do love skiing and I think if I have the chance to spend some time on it then it is fun."
The Championships are the biggest event of the year for the British ski racing world and Delancey are the principal sponsor for the sixth year running.
Vanessa-Mae is set to compete in further slalom and giant slalom races at the event over the next few days but is already planning her return in 12 months' time.
"I'll be in Tignes until Sunday which will be fun even though I hear the weather is closing in," she added. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the races.
"I hope to be back here next year. My partner has a wine boutique in Val d'Isere, so wine and skiing is a nice mix.
"Music and skiing are not such a classic mix but if he's here for the next season, then I'll definitely be here as well."
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