IT will be business as usual for Wiltshire-based skeleton star Laura Deas on Monday when she starts her World Cup campaign in Sigulda, Latvia, following an unforgettable summer.

Deas married Richard Green – her partner of six years – shortly after her bronze medal success at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, back in February.

But married life has done little to impact Deas’ relentless training schedule, which will be put to the test throughout an eight-round World Cup series which spans across Europe and North America.

“It’s business as usual for me,” said Deas, who bases herself in Chippenham.

“It was an amazing summer – coming back from the games and going straight into wedding prep.

“That kept us very busy and myself and Richard enjoyed a ‘mini-moon’ to recover.

“We’ve still got our honeymoon to look forward to.

“Richard is very understanding that I go away for four months of the year – that’s how our sport is.”

After finishing seventh last year, 30-year-old Deas is aiming to secure a regular spot in the championship’s top six this term after first starting skeleton racing less than a decade ago.

That means a dramatic improvement is required on her best finish from last season – sixth placed at Innsbruck – if Deas is to pitch for a medal spot.

But with the facilities of the University of Bath and support from her team-mates and coaches behind her, Deas admits there will be no time for excuses throughout this season’s championship.

She added: “Bath is a fantastic facility, and we’re really lucky to be able to train here.

“The gym is great, we have specialist equipment for us.

“As well as having the only push track in the country too, we’ve also got an on-site clinic and all the support staff around us so we can perform.

“There’s no excuse for not being on top of your game.

“It feels like I’ve been doing skeleton forever.

“But I can’t get my head around the fact that I’m now one of the senior athletes.

“It doesn’t feel long ago when I was new and looking up to the likes of Amy Williams and Shelly Rudman.

“I wanted advice from them, and it’s a very privileged position for me to be in now. I can’t quite believe it’s all happened.

“We all work as a team behind the scenes. Although it’s about an individual performance when you’re sliding, everyone on the British team knows the best way to success is by helping each other.

“We’ll continue to do that, and hopefully it will bring great results.”