RISING Jersey bobsleigh stars Will Golder and Kevan Crowell have been selected to Team GB.

Following a superb performance in the British Championships in Italy last month, the duo have been chosen as one of two two-man development crews who will compete for Britain in Europa Cup events next year.

Golder said: ‘We are over the moon – we just got the email a few days ago so it’s all starting to sink in. We’ve been training really hard and it’s all starting to pay off now, and we can’t wait to go out in January to St Moritz for the first race. It means we’ll be training hard over Christmas, without a break, but that’s not a problem because we both really enjoy it.’

The Europa Cup series consists of eight European races and acts as a feeder for the international circuit.
As such, it attracts entries from many of the 50 countries affiliated to the FIBT [Féderation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing], with nearly 50 two-man crews entered in pre-Christmas events. Golder said: ‘The competition will be really tough, but we’re not expected to go out there and win, or set records. It’s all about getting experience. First we’re going out to a track we’ve never been to before, in St Moritz, before we go back to Cesana in Italy, so the most important thing for us is to enjoy the experience of testing new tracks to get a feel of the international circuit.’

Golder and Crowell are relative newcomers to the sport, but after a summer of sprint work and weight training under the guidance of club coach Colin Campbell – himself an Olympic bobsleigh competitor – the pair finished as top civilian crew at the British Championships, and were subsequently identified by the national coaches as potential Junior World Championship candidates for next winter.

Pictured: Kevan Crowell and Will Golder