Former Olympic skier Alain Baxter has poured cold water on his hopes of making next year’s Commonwealth Games as a cyclist.

The 35-year-old won bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City only to later be stripped of the medal after testing positive for a banned substance.

In a dramatic U-turn this year the Aviemore star set his sights on an unlikely sport switch in turning to the track and was due to compete at the British track cycling championships in Manchester last month.

But after missing the Manchester event with flu, the 35-year-old is coy about his hopes of making the plane to Delhi next year.

“I need to get my first competition out of the way, see where I stand, gain more experience and we’ll see how I go,” said Baxter.

“For me it would be a great achievement to make the Commonwealth team and to perform to the best of my ability, but at the moment we’ll just take it step by step.

“I need to get some competitions under my belt to see what standard I’m at and see what improvement I can make up until Delhi, one year away.”