By the time Winter Olympian Patrick Singleton left the Torino circuit where he will be medal-chasing next February, the competition had got the better of him.

Singleton had blazed the trail during his first runs on the Olympic track, setting the fastest times out of any competitors in official training but 12 runs later his time had been significantly bettered, a situation he described as a ?little worrying?.

?In a way I am not surprised,? said Singleton, speaking from his Bavarian hostel on the next stage of his pre-Olympic training.

?We went out there with a plan and that plan was to be as fast as possible in the opening runs and try and intimidate the opposition.

?I think it would be safe to say we achieved that, getting some very fast times and laying our intentions on the line.

?The plan was then to taper off and try and work on a few different things, trying different lines and runners and conditions ? not necessarily concentrating on speed.

?As a result we were caught up as we expected to be but it was a little worrying to see that some of the times were significantly faster than ours.?

Singleton got a total of 16 runs on the Olympic course, four consecutively on the first day, four on the second day and then a ?more reasonable? two-a-day for the remainder of his time there.

Although pleased to be given the opportunity to practise on the circuit, which he described as ?quite tricky?, that is now it for Singleton and possibly the majority of the other competitors ? bar the Italians on their home track ? before the event itself next year.

There are still plenty more races and plenty more tracks to visit across Europe in the coming weeks although one vital date is strongly etched into his mind, the January 21 Challenge Cup in Konigsee which serves as the qualifier for the Games themselves.

And despite the setback of seeing his blitzkrieg times bypassed, Singleton is still confident ahead of his Torino adventures.

?Skeleton is not like athletics where before a 100 metres race you have a pretty good idea of one or two people who are going to win,? he continued.

?For us, there could be 20 people in with a chance of a medal, it is all about mental toughness on the day and performing to your very best.

?There are going to be 30 or so people competing, one is going to get the gold, two are going to get the other medals and the rest have to go home empty-handed ? I just have to make sure I am not one of those.?

Singleton admits there is still plenty of hard work to do, but is happy that he is going to go into the event ? in just 66 days ? in the best possible shape.

Although whether the venue itself will be in tip-top condition is another matter.

?To be honest the whole area still looked a little like a construction site,? added Singleton. ?I get the impression that there is still a lot left to do.?