DAN WAKEHAM'S OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN

BRITISH snowboarding sensation Dan Wakeham is gearing up for the most important 15 months of his life.

The countdown to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada starts in January, when qualification for the main event opens.

DAN WAKEHAM - ambition

Snowboarding is one of the Olympics' newest and sexiest sports and Wakeham is one of several young British stars bidding for a shot at glory.

Speaking at winter sports festival LG London Freeze, Wakeham said: "It's a good, solid team and we're beginning to make a name for ourselves on the circuit.

"There's Dom Harington from Leeds. I have been riding with him for a long time and we push each other. The up-and-coming talent includes Ben Kilner from Scotland and Sam Cullum and Angus Leith are also working their way up."

Dan is a half-pipe specialist but Olympic snowboarding is split into three disciplines.

He explained: "The half-pipe is a U-shaped ditch in the ground, like you see in skateboarding.

"You go side-to-side doing jumps and you're marked on technical difficulty, how high you get and control.

"Snowboard Cross is a windy track with bums and jumps - it's a high-speed race to the bottom, and slalom is going through gates head-to-head, like in skiing."

AIR WE GO - Dan Wakeham in action

Dan will travel across the world in his bid for Olympic selection but his passion for the sport started in Devon.

He said: "I grew up in Plymouth and I was into surfing and skateboarding. I had a couple of lessons at a dry slope, took to it and got hooked.

"I picked up a couple of sponsors and got into competing. I picked up a few more sponsors and built my way into the British team."

But being a professional snowboarder isn't as glamorous as it's cracked up to be.

He said: "It's not easy. Every year there's a battle between the skiers and snowboarders to get funding.

"There's a certain amount and it has to be shared, and the snowboarders are getting placed higher and higher. The more media exposure we get, the better."

Tricks

LG Freeze was doing its bit to put skiing and boarding on the map and Dan was suitably impressed.

"There are a lot of good riders, including two-times Olympic medallist Danny Kass and some of the top skiers, including Tanner Hall. There are some really progressive tricks being thrown down.

"It's very different to doing an event in the mountains, where you can ride around and warm up. This is point and go and, when you stand up there, you know how high you are."

But - as you can see from our spectacular footage - this is not something to be tried at home.

"You have to work yourself up to it," warns Dan.

"You can't wander up and expect to hit something big straight away. Start small. Try little bumps, jumps and spins, then work your way up."

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