British Olympic curling coach David Hay insists the rest of the world can still give Canada's powerhouse rinks a run for their money in Sochi despite defeat in the Continental Cup in Las Vegas.
The best in north America combined to regain curling's team trophy from the rest of the world in convincing fashion with a series of final day skins wins.
World champion Eve Muirhead, who will make her second Olympic appearance in Sochi, lost 3-2 to the USA's Erika Brown while fellow British Olympian David Murdoch skipped a mixed team defeated 4-1 by Canadian rival Jeff Stoughton.
But Hay, who coached the rest of the world in Las Vegas, is not concerned with just three weeks to go before action starts in Russia.
“We underperformed this week," he admitted.
"We didn’t perform as well as we should have done. The Canadian and American teams played very well. Some of our guys played very well at times but not well enough all the way through, so they were deserved winners.
“The next event (Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games) will be life changing for someone. There’s going to be some close contests out there and if the ice is as good as it was here there will be some outstanding games of curling.”
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