Three-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie has laughed off "amusing" question marks over his form heading into the London 2012 Games this summer.
Ainslie suffered defeat in the recent Sail For Gold regatta as Giles Scott - who missed out on an Olympic place to Ainslie - beat him in the Finn class earlier this month.
"I mean, two weeks previously I won the World Championships and everybody said it was easy. Then Giles won the Sail For Gold regatta and suddenly, in two weeks, I'm in everyone else's eyes under-performing," Ainslie told Press Association Sport.
But Ainslie, who suffered from illness and a capsized boat as he lost to Scott in Weymouth, has no concerns about his level of performance.
Much was made of the failure to win the Sail For Gold regatta but Ainslie is happy to ignore the furore.
The four-time Olympian, who collected his London 2012 kit in Loughborough on Tuesday, said: "I think it's just something you have to deal with if you're towards the top of any sport.
"The pressure for the Olympics will be greater than ever and as I say, that's just something you have to deal with.
"You notice those expectation levels a lot more because we're at home. Previously we've been abroad and you don't quite get the feeling of anticipation and expectation but we are experiencing it now, being at home which is fantastic.
"But at the same time we have to rise to that level of expectation and get a result."