Skeleton star Patrick Singleton?s preparations for his third Winter Olympics, starting next week, have been disrupted by a slight groin strain.

But speaking from his training base at the English Institute of Sport in Bath, England, yesterday, the 32-year-old said he was doing everything he could to get himself physically fit for another Olympic odyssey.

He admitted, however, that he did not feel quite as fresh as he did at the end of last year and that the next week of preparation would be crucial to his chances of success.

?The injury I?ve got is a very common among skeleton athletes,? he said.

?It?s quite painful at the moment but I?m not too concerned about it because I think with a couple of days rest it will be fine and won?t cause me a problem.

?Since I got to Bath, the training has been about fine tuning ? sharpening the pencil without breaking off the lead if you like. We?ve been focusing on helping the body recover which has meant a lot of hot and cold baths and extended rests.?

Along with the entire British skeleton team, Singleton will travel to Albertville in France on Sunday ? host town of the 1992 Winter Olympics ? which is only two hours? drive from this year?s skeleton track over the border in Siestre, Italy.

Reflecting on his medal chances, Singleton said he was not putting any undue pressure on himself.

?I?ve got absolutely nothing to lose,? he said.

?A lot of the other athletes from bigger countries will be under an enormous amount of pressure as always which I guess could work in my favour.?

Meanwhile, Singleton finished 14th last weekend at the Skeleton Europe Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland ? a week after securing his Olympic place by finishing fourth at the Challenge Cup in Germany.

Singleton described the latter as ?the biggest race of my career?, adding that he had never competed in such a pressure-cooker environment.

?I?m not to keen to go through that sort of experience again and I know it sounds odd but the Olympics will be a walk in the park by comparison,? he said.

?I?ve competed in the Challenge Cup twice before to qualify for the World Championships but it was even bigger this time around because so many of the athletes were desperate to qualify for the Olympics. The competition was extraordinary. Some of those competing parked themselves at the track for weeks and spent something like a million bucks on their preparation.

?The weather was playing up as well and I am not all that comfortable racing in the snow so I was extremely anxious in the lead-up. But it all worked out in the end and now that I?m there I?m actually a lot more relaxed about it.

?I cannot wait for it to get started though and I?ve got to thank all the people in Bermuda who have supported me through this, in particular my sponsors Montpelier Re who have backed me so generously. I could not have done it without them.?