JACK Thomas genuinely believes he can win gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics – but the Westhoughton slider knows the hard work starts now if he is to back up his bold claim.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a lacklustre finale to his debut World Cup season, finishing 20th at Pyeongchang, South Korea, which will host the Olympics next February.

A series of flying runs in training did not translate in competition, yet the former Horwich RMI sprinter fell in love with the track and is confident he can do better on the sport's biggest stage.

"The biggest low for me this season had to be the final race in Pyeongchang," he said.

"Going from being in the top four in training to finishing 20th was hard to swallow, but the things I took from it will be so valuable in my preparations for the Olympics next year.

"It is unlike any other track in the world – it has its own character, one that I really like.

"It's a technical track to try to get speed out of and a few negative G (G-force) areas, which feel incredible.

"I've come back from Korea with a lot of confidence. Yeah, I finished 20th, but I honestly believe I can win an Olympics on that track."

Thomas was catapulted into the British World Cup team at the start of the season, going from the bottom rung of international competition to the top following an impressive display at selection races.

He was originally picked up by the Power2Podium programme as a promising sprinter with the dexterity and reflexes that suited the sport perfectly.

It took him a while to adapt to the technical aspects, and he needed surgery to overcome a problem that triggered explosive nose bleeds on his way down the track.

Despite those obstacles, Thomas consistently produced the fastest start times of any slider on the GB team, a skill that has translated into World Cup competition.

He regularly posted start times in the top five during the World Cup campaign, but continually lost time by the finish, posting his best result of 15th at Altenberg, Germany, in January and finishing the season 18th overall.

It is hoped the experience built up on the tracks this year will move Thomas up the rankings next season, while a promising debut at the World Championships in February showed what he could be capable of in a four-run competition, like the Olympics.

The Boltonian endured a frustrating first two runs at Königssee, but just as he looked set to miss out on qualification for the final run Thomas pulled it out of the bag, finishing 14th and ninth fastest in his last two attempts to move from 21st to 16th overall.

"This season has been huge for me," he said, as he looks to rival British number one Dom Parsons and room-mate Jerry Rice for places in the 2017/18 World Cup team.

"My first full season in World Cup and my first World Championships – an incredible year with lots of things sent to test me.

"The biggest high had to be that final run in the World Championships. I still made a couple of mistakes, but it did definitely show me what I am capable of.

"Next year we have qualified three spots for World Cup, which is great for Britain.

"A full quota leading into the Olympic Games is what we wanted.

"It will come down to the selection races in October to see who gets them.

"Right now, I have got straight back into training.

"I had two days off to recover a little from the journey back from Korea.

"We lose a bit of strength over the season so we are just topping that up with a gruelling strength block.

"Then it's time for a couple of weeks away and back into training on the first of May.

"I'm going to train like I always do. Hard and smart!

"I think it's important to have fun on the journey as well. How can I not, when I love my job?

"The main goal is to obviously stay injury free and improve my push.

"My start dropped off towards the end of the season, so it's important to get that back."