Mikko Leppilampi, a famous Finnish actor with a lyrical surname, has fallen head over heels in love with ice cross downhill and the 36-year-old TV celebrity will be among the dozens of local heroes from Finland who will be battling for one of the 64 spots in Saturday's finals. Leppilampi got hooked on the sport the first time he tried it and has become a tireless advocate for Red Bull Crashed Ice. He believes its high-speed thrill and spills makes it ideally suited to the Finnish mentality.
"I really love this sport and believe in its growth possibilities – and I really want to be involved in that," Leppilampi said, ahead of the weekend racing action in Finland. "I work in the entertainment business and love sports – and ice cross downhill is a great combination of those two. This is the most perfect sports entertainment that I've seen anywhere."
Getting ready for his fifth Red Bull Crashed Ice race, Leppilampi says he dreams of making it to the final 32 for the first time on the fast and furious downhill track carved into the Serena ski resort just north of Helsinki. But the versatile Leppilampi, who also hosts Finland's 'Dancing with the Stars' TV show, has no illusions about getting to the finals, semi-finals or even quarter-finals against the best downhill racers in the world. Because of his busy acting and TV schedule, Leppilampi's training is mainly limited to playing ice hockey twice a week.
"I've been fortunate to be busy with my acting work so haven't been able to train as much as I would have liked," said Leppilampi, who is one of the stars in a new international film 'The Girl King' about a 19th-century Swedish queen. "I just love being involved in Red Bull Crashed Ice even if I'm not going to collect a lot of world championship points. I love riding the tracks, and hanging out with the guys in the athletes' tent. My ultimate goal is to make it to the top 32 and this is the track here in Finland where I would have the best chance. It's short and steep and fast and doesn't require a lot of skating. In those long tracks where you have to do a lot of skating, I just don't have the leg strength. This race is my best chance for the top 32."
For more on Saturday's event, visit redbullcrashedice.com/helsinki.
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