Four of the world's top ice cross downhill athletes warmed up for the second Red Bull Crashed Ice stop of the 2015 season in Helsinki, Finland, this Saturday with some training on a frozen bay by the sea near the capital.
Finland's Miikka Jouhkimainen gave his rivals Cameron Naasz, of the United States, Switzerland's Derek Wedge and Jim De Paoli a taste of high-speed action in the frigid Finnish north. The four athletes, who will be battling in ice-cold, snow-covered Finland for world championship points, used their imagination to come up with the innovative training session on Wednesday before the downhill training begins on Friday at the Serena ski resort. The four aces tried to simulate racing conditions by accelerating at high speeds by the sea near the Finnish capital.
Naasz, who won the first Riders Cup race last month in the United States, is in third place in the world standings after the Red Bull Crashed Ice season opener in Saint Paul and the first two of four Riders Cup races this year with 812.50 points, while Jouhkimainen is eighth overall with 422.50 points. Canada's Kyle Croxall leads the championship with 1237.50 points, including 1,000 points from the win in Saint Paul.
For the full standings, visit redbullcrashedice.com/results.