DPS Group sponsored skier Iain Innes has spent a month training in China in temperatures as low as -35°C as he targets the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
British ski champion Iain Innes has revealed his first ice-cold trip to train in China – coming less than four years from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The Team GB Youth Olympian has set his sights on securing a place at his first Olympics, and with that in mind continues to prep relentlessly.
DPS Group are proud to sponsor Iain’s efforts, having been with him since his earliest days competing.
“The trip to China was an incredible experience,” says Iain.
“It was my first long haul flight since I was a little child. I saw a whole new continent I’d never been to and I experienced the coldest temperatures of my life so far.”
The 20-year-old’s training regime took him outside with the thermometer dropping as low as -35°C, before considering the wind chill!
“The cold alone was an experience in itself,” he explained.
“I actually never spent long enough outside to feel cold in terms of core body temperature, because after every run I would rush into the ski lodge for a break.
“The main issue was protecting your skin from burns. Obviously, I wore a full ski suit, boots, gloves, helmet and goggles, but that leaves your cheeks, mouth and nose unprotected.
“To overcome this issue we used physio “kinesio” tape to protect our skin, this worked well, but any unprotected skin was intermediately burnt when skiing at decent speed.
“People’s ski boots, shin guards, helmets etc. would crack in half just from the cold!”
Over in China, Iain competed in eleven races against the very best talent from across Asia, Russia, and some from Europe, scoring an all-time personal best (PB) in slalom and multiple PBs in giant.
In doing so, he managed to secure three silver-place podium finishes, second only to Korea’s strongest World Cup skier, the Olympian Jung Donghyun.