Team GB have perhaps their highest hopes yet as they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics this week.

The medal target is between four and eight, with the best-ever haul of five achieved in Sochi in 2014 and again in Pyeonchang in 2018.

But in sports where the tiniest mistakes can have disastrous consequences, nothing is carved in ice.

Matt Weston is the two-time world champion in skeleton and Crystal Globe winner for the last three seasons (that's snowsport's equivalent of the Champions League). He's about as sure "a sure thing" that winter sports gets.

"Last time we were going in as outside chances, but this time going in as favourite adds a lot of pressure," he says.

"But it adds a lot of confidence - it's not just a one-off season. It's been an amazing few years. There's definitely pressure, but I kind of like it."

His teammate, Marcus Wyatt, is third in the world rankings and also a strong contender.

Weston thinks that given what they've achieved, it's a shame the spotlight on skeleton only happens at an Olympics.

"It is quite a shame that people only tune into our sport every four years," he says.

"I know I'm biased but it is a kind of cool sport. We go headfirst at 90mph down these amazing tracks all around the world.

"The fact that people are going to be looking at me - there's more attention on skeleton - I've taught myself to enjoy it. I'm looking forward to all the noise around it."

But he admits you have to be a certain type of person to embrace how scary this sport is.

Most skeleton racers have had a catalogue of injuries that would stop most people ever getting on a sled again.

"You have to be a certain type of person to get over that fear when you first start and you go down and you have no brakes," says Weston.

"Whether you have a good run, a bad run, you crash or don't crash, you are going to the bottom because it's just sheet ice. Once you get over the fear and apprehension about that, it's so much fun."

After Eve Muirhead's curling team finally landed gold in Beijing, this time the men's team, skipped by Bruce Mouat, will be centre rink.

Mouat's team are double world champions and after silver four years ago, anything other than gold would be a disappointment.

He tells Sky News: "I think that's where we are at in my career. The boys and I have done a lot of really good things over the last 18 months.

"We're world number one for over a year now. It's new territory for a team to be this dominant. It's about what we can do over the next month to bring home that gold."

Other potential medallists include the ice dance partnership of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. The world and European bronze medallists in ice dance are hoping to land Britain's first ice skating medal since Torvill and Dean 42 years ago.

Zoe Atkin and Kirsty Muir should also be in the mix in big air and slopestyle skiing, while snowboarder Mia Brookes had seven podium finishes in 2025.

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The opening ceremony isn't until Friday but Mouat and Jen Dodds will be one of the favourites competing in the mixed curling event, which opens the Olympics on Wednesday.

The podium opportunities are there for the taking for Team GB but with the jeopardy of winter sports others may emerge.