New Zealand's skeleton racers have a prime chance to be the country's best performers at the Winter Olympics tomorrow. They head off, head first, on the first two of their four runs at the Whistler Sliding Centre. The lowest combined time wins the event.

Ben Sandford and Iain Roberts were ranked 14th and 44th respectively in the men's World Cup rankings leading into the Games while Tionette Stoddard came in 21st on the women's list.

Sandford finished 10th at the last Olympics in Torino and has maintained consistent results since. He has finished inside the top 20 in all seven of his World Cup events this season.

Edinburgh-based Roberts has raced in six of those events, finishing between 18th and 26th throughout.

Stoddard has also maintained a steady build-up, placing between 10th and 22nd in each of her seven World Cups.

Like most athletes, the trio has struggled on the Whistler track in the build-up, trying to harness excessive speeds. Roberts even ended up with mild concussion at one stage after grazing his chin on the same 16th corner where Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in pre-Games practice.

The venue has faced a severe critique since. Sandford says that's justified.

"Tracks are usually designed to keep you in. If not there's something very wrong. In the past I haven't had too many problems at Whistler. It is a difficult track which requires excellent technique. Where the crash occurred we are doing 140kph. You can't see much so you are trying to do it on feel."

Physical punishment from these icy snakes on the hillside is part of the job though.

"When you get thrown off it's normally similar to being in your average car crash," says Sandford. "You get a lot of glancing blows. In the last three years the biggest hit I've had is out of corner 16 here. It shakes you up."

Stoddard has faced similar issues this week.

"Because of the accident and the history of this track, they gave us an extra run, so I was able to go from the ladies' start and from the top. My run from the top was pretty hairy; I took a beating. It's a relentless track... very fast."

The added danger of the luge death has underlined the need to plan meticulously.

"We walk the track ever other day to check out the profile but access has been limited," says Stoddard.

However, one of her pre-Olympic problems has resolved itself. Stoddard now has a fully-functional, perfectly-aligned sled.

"My fellow Kiwi sledder Katharine Eustace kindly offered to lend me hers after she missed out on the Games [Eustace was ranked 26th on World Cup points]. Mine was damaged in transit from New Zealand during the season, so I've been racing on a slightly bent sled up until now."

Stoddard's event starts from 1pm while Sandford and Roberts are in action from 3.30pm.

Other Kiwis in action are flagbearer Juliane Bray, Kendall Brown and Rebecca Sinclair in the women's halfpipe snowboarding from 9.30am at Cypress Mountain and Sarah Murphy who is part of her second biathlon event, the 15-kilometre individual from 7am at Whistler.