Charlie Raposo may have given his opponents little chance to win the Giant Slalom title at the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships on Thursday but it proved not to be enough for the Chelsea skier.

Taking place from March 26 to April 7, the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships will welcome more than 300 of Britain’s most talented skiers to the slopes of the French Alps.

Competing in his first event of this year’s Championships, 21-year-old Raposo dominated right from the off in the Giant Slalom, setting a time of 59.09 seconds in his opening run before shaving off nearly a second from that time in his second run to clinch the title in a combined time of 1:57.12.

Despite finishing as the fastest British skier, Raposo was disappointed to place third overall, with two international athletes recording quicker times, but that’s not to say he wasn’t thrilled to retain his trophy.

“I’m pleased, it’s nice to defend the title. I wanted to win the overall race, but I didn’t do that, so I wasn’t quite as fast as I wanted to be,” he said.

“That happens sometimes though, and either way, I’m happy with my skiing in the second run.

“I was a little too risky with my line in the first run, which made my turns a bit slow, but skiing is always a case of risk management. You have to figure out how much you can take and what you can give to the course.

“It’s really nice to start here in Tignes with a win. Unfortunately, I’m only competing in two more races, but it’s nice to take a title.

“This season has had a lot of ups and downs. I went to the World Junior Championships where I finished sixth, but then I’ve had a DNF in every Europa Cup Giant Slalom, but that’s just how it is – I just need to keep pushing.”

On Friday, Raposo will compete in the Men’s Slalom event, in which he will go up against man of the moment Dave Ryding.

The hottest name in British snow sport right now, Ryding made history this season by becoming the first British Alpine skier to claim a World Cup podium in 35 years, and Raposo can’t wait to see how he compares.

“There are some good guys here, and while my Slalom can be very fast, I don’t have that much mileage this year because I haven’t really skied that much in 2017,” he said.

“I just have to trust and be confident coming down the hill, really push for it and see how the cookie crumbles.

“It’s always fun to race against Dave. He’s the big name on the team and he’s done incredible things this year.

“I have massive amounts of respect for him even though I’ll never admit it to him, but he’s a weapon so it will be fun to face him.”

Elsewhere at the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships, Charlie Guest walked away with the Women’s Slalom title, just over seven weeks after breaking her hand.

Guest crossed the line in a time of 1:27.55 to finish ahead of Ella Still and Nicole Ritchie, and top the podium for the first time this week.

To follow the Delancey British Alpine Ski Team visit www.teambss.org.uk or follow @teambss on Twitter.

As Principal Sponsor of British Ski and Snowboard, specialist real estate investment and advisory company Delancey is proud to be able to support British athletes – visit www.delancey.com