They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that is certainly the case with Jamie Nicholls as he bids to return to the Burton Rail Days with a bang.
Having finished sixth in the men’s slopestyle final at the Sochi Winter Olympics, Nicholls is champing at the bit to get back to action.
And the 21-year-old doesn’t have to wait long as he kickstarts his season in Tokyo at the fourth annual Burton Rail Days event.
It is a competition that Nicholls won in its maiden year, but after finishing second the following year he was forced to miss the last event due to his Sochi involvement.
And while he insists he wouldn’t change a thing, Nicholls is happy to be back and is once again eyeing up the top step of the podium.
“I’ve got Burton Rail Days in Japan coming up. I won it the first year I was there, came second the year after but I missed this year because of the Olympics so I’m looking forward to going back and taking the title,” he said.
“It’s been an amazing year, definitely a great experience and hopefully I’ll get that chance again.
“The Olympics was a great experience, I didn’t really know what to expect but it was exciting and I was just happy to get there so to go on and do as well as I did was amazing.
“Sochi has helped raise my profile, people now know who I am and stop to ask for a picture or photograph so it’s a bit surreal but I can’t complain.
“The experience really helped my confidence and going forward to next year I want to focus a bit more on filming and doing a few projects and new tricks.”
© Sportsbeat 2014