Wed, 01/20/2010 - 5:05pmOlympic contender: Ben Kilner

"I’ll literally just do a run like 200 times"

Way back in October, we caught up with Team GB halfpipe World Cup team member, Ben Kilner. One of the UK's strongest halfpipe riders, Ben not only hopes to make the Olympics, he wants to do damn good. If you saw his runs at the recent 6Star Burton European Open you'll no doubt be keeping an eye out in Canada next month.

DCMT: How many weeks a year are you snowboarding?
BK: I would say a good kind of 30-40 weeks a year

DCMT: How long have you been with Britain’s World Cup Halfpipe Team?
BK: Since I was about 14. I’ve pretty much grown up always being on either the Scottish or the British Team.

DCMT: What does that involve now, what does it mean to be on the team in terms of what you have to do and how much it costs?
BK: It involves travelling the word competing in the World Cups and training. It also involves an intensive strength and conditioning programme when not on snow. This year it means trying to meet qualification criteria for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next year.
We get some funding to pay for the coaching and travel costs. That comes from Sport Scotland; they give us £10,000 of funding that really helps towards the core costs, coaching fees etc. I still have to find the money for travel and accommodation; that’s where my sponsors come in. Luckily this year British Airways will provide me with four return flights to select destinations.

DCMT: Who are your sponsors?
BK: LG, K2, Grenade, Nixon, Von Zipper, Nike 6.0, Gyro, OGIO, 32 Boots, Bawbags, Granite Reef

DCMT: Who is your coach?
BK: Leo Adlington.

DCMT: A lot of the time coaches can’t actually do the tricks that you are trying to learn, how do they help?
BK: Most coaches can’t actually do the tricks that are going on now. The American coach Bud Keane was with Shaun White when he was doing his first ever attempts at the double McTwist 10, and all he could say at first was spin it a bit faster! It’s just having a bit of wisdom there and someone being there to give you that bit of confidence and motivation.

DCMT: What do you have to do to qualify for the Winter Olympics?
BK: The main goal really is getting to the top 40 in the world ranking. The British team criteria were either one top 15, or two top 20 results in a World Cup halfpipe event. I was really trying to make sure I qualify this year so I’ve been competing a lot.

DCMT: Does the level of riding go up in the pre-Olympic season?
BK: Yeah, definitely. Apparently it happens each time where all the teams go off back to their own countries to start learning their own things in private. It’s a bit funny sometimes but it definitely pushes snowboarding to another level.

DCMT: You mean funny because normally you’d be riding and hanging out with the same riders that go back to their own countries?
BK: Yeah. I mean you have someone like Shaun White who actually has his own halfpipe.

DCMT: What are the ridiculous tricks that you’ve seen?
BK: In New Zealand I saw five different types of double cork. Danny Davis did double alley-oop backside rodeos; Jeff Batchelor double alley-oop McTwists; Shaun White did three different double corks: he did frontside double cork 10, Cab double cork 10 and backside double McTwist 10.

DCMT: What’s special about double corks?
BK: When you see them they literally just make your heart jump. At first you think that the rider has finished the trick way too early and then they go upside down again. People aren’t used to seeing people go upside down twice in the halfpipe.

DCMT: Have you ever tried one?
BK: No, it’s definitely in the diary to try one. I’d like to try the Cab double cork 10.

DCMT: When you are competing like this what are you aiming for?
BK: First of all my top goal, or priority was to qualify for the Olympics. If I do get there, I’ll be setting my goals to qualify for the finals. I’d be really happy with that.

DCMT: Which riders do you think are the best right now?
BK: Obviously Shaun White: he’s the one who is bringing all the tricks out and he is at the top of the game so everyone looks up to him for what to do to win a gold medal. Another person who has surprised me is Luke Mitrani; he’s a very good up-and-coming American. Mathieu Crépel is another one. He is very under-rated in the halfpipe but once he gets his amplitude up there he stands a good chance.

DCMT: Are you getting as high out of the pipe as those other guys?
BK: Yeah, I’d say I’m always going about 80 or 90 per cent of my maximum height – if you’re doing straight airs and you’re going as high as you possibly can you’re only just managing to keep control. The 15- to18-ft mark is about where it’s at in a 22-ft halfpipe.
It’s very hard to keep your height consistent all the way down the halfpipe, which is one of the main things the judges will be looking for. If you start bringing the amplitude down, the judges think you are starting to mess things up. Shaun White especially can keep his amplitude all the way.

DCMT: What is the process for getting ready?
BK: I will be heading to Saas Fee training prior to the World Cup and will spend three weeks at Copper Mountain before Christmas. There is also a final World Cup in Austria in January so I will spend some time out there. I am also under the Scottish Institute of Sport who will be keeping me busy with my strength and conditioning programme. If you come out of competition too long, you get too used to training in a quiet pipe. You need to get in your zone for competitions. I have a sport psychologist who will help me get mentally prepared.

DCMT: Do you have a pipe run ready?
BK: I have a few, but without the double corks – they’re in the back of my head but I’m concentrating on my main run.

DCMT: Is it quite fixed?
BK: I’ll literally just do a run like 200 times.

DCMT: Can you tell us what it is?
BK: Yeah, I’m not gonna be secretive about tricks or anything: straight air, to backside 9, frontside 10, Cab 7 then a frontside 9.
The best linked tricks are probably the backside 9 to front 10. Then the Cab 7 would be a set-up trick for the front 9. I’d like to change the Cab 7 to a double cork, and then that would change the to flat spin front 10 to double cork to Cab 10.

DCMT: What got you into the World Cup and Team GB side of things? Did you not want to chill a bit more and ride the TTR tour?
BK: I started doing World Cups during one of the Olympic qualifying years where my coach at the time decided I should give it a go and try to qualify for Turin. So I came out of school and I went for it, but I came nine points short of the 120 required to get in. That’s why I really wanted to make sure I qualified this time by doing all the World Cups.

DCMT: So you just enjoy what you are doing?
BK: Yeah I love it, I think some people don’t get the whole competition thing but I get a really good buzz out of it. The best reward is landing your run in a competition: you get a really good feeling.