Bankes can cash in after France spat

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CHARLOTTE BANKES revealed how injury and insult drove her to switch allegiance from France and become Team GB’s best hope for Olympic gold.

Bankes (above), world snowboard cross champion, competed in the last two Winter Olympics for France.

Born in Hertfordshire, her family moved across the Channel when she was four and she spent five years skiing for her adopted nation.

But after finishing seventh in Pyeongchang in 2018 France chose to get rid of her coach Jerome Choupin and Bankes, 26, voted with her feet.

She said: “That season really wasn’t going very well, I had big hip problems, couldn’t train properly and was thinking of stopping.

“There were then changes in the French team… They were kicking out my trainer and I was like, ‘If it continues like this I’m not willing to go back and try something new.’

“France weren’t willing to put the support into keeping me. it wasn’t working, That’s when I got in touch with GB Snowsport and we had a meeting.”

Bankes, who heads to the start line here on Wednesday as a firm medal favourite, and Choupin were quickly offered roles in the GB set-up and she added“A lot of people around the French team didn’t react very well.

“For six months it was tough, not an easy period. I tried to stay away from social media. But I think they would realise as well that I wouldn’t have got that success with them.”