93 men and 29 women rushed to the record-breaking 630-meter long track on Friday in the hope of making it through to the Saturday individual final, where the fastest 64 men and 16 women will battle it out for the trophy. USA's Cameron Naasz clinched the fastest time, 53.73 seconds, and secured himself the best start gate in doing so. Skating on his home town track, Finland's Markus Juola served a pleasant surprise for the Finnish fans – "Crazy-Make" stopped the timer at 54.11, the second best time, and has a strong position going into tonight.
"It's a very good position for tomorrow. I have a good feeling to start from the second place. Home town track – I didn't need to feel nervous. I just shut my mind off and let it all out," said Juola after the Shootout on Friday.
Juola was leading the Shootout after the first round, but ultimately Naasz was able to push that little bit harder on the second round and passed the Finn – only by 0.38 seconds though. Juola, though, has a couple of aces in his sleeve for Saturday finals.
"My run wasn't 100 % perfect after all – maybe Cameron had slightly better luck," said Juola with a laugh.
To first place and pull away
Juola showed good pace in the Team Competition on Friday night too. He performed strongly in the Team Finland jersey and progressed all the way to the podium for the first time in his career, as Team Finland came home a close second. Juola was the first to cross the finish line several times and fought shoulder to shoulder in the final against Living the Dream – the dream team made up of Cameron Naasz, Scott Croxall and Kyle Croxall.
Markus Juola led Team Finland to a heat win over Ice Crew. Photo: Samo Vidic
"It definitely raises confidence for tonight's race. Not a single heat has been won yet though – everyone starts from the same gates."
The man is oozing positivity heading into tonight's competition, and he might just have a few surprises to offer too.
"The same mindset on and let it go. To first place and pull away."
Get the tickets in advance and avoid queuing at the box office. Tickets here: www.lippu.fi/red-bull-crashed-ice