A rainy day couldn't dampen the fire of the riders as the 2015/16 ice cross downhill season kicked off with the historic tenth anniversary of Red Bull Crashed Ice in Quebec City. In the evening's team event, the reigning World Champions continued to dominate the opposition.
The 460-meter-long urban track in the center of Quebec City was packed with action on Friday night as ice cross downhill athletes streaked down the rain-slicked surface six abreast in the Team Competition. In a kick-off to the tenth anniversary of ice cross downhill in the provincial capital, which challenged riders not only with downpours but wind and even snow, the 2015 Team World Champions Living the Dream extended their winning streak to three events in defeating a tough challenge from Team UNRL in second, while Team Steal17 was third.
Quebec City marks the first event in the biggest ice cross downhill season ever. The members of Team Living the Dream – Scott Croxall of Canada, his countryman Adam Horst, and American Cameron Naasz – had a fight on their hands with the all-American lineup of UNRL, but the experience of the Team World Champions gave them the edge. Croxall, who on Saturday will be launching his personal campaign to become the first rider ever to win back-to-back individual World Championships, looked happy and loose at the finish line.
"It was amazing, a great team effort," said the Canadian hero, who made his Red Bull Crashed Ice debut in Quebec City back in 2009. "This track is very fast as well as technical, and it seemed like just about everybody had a fall here today."
Earlier, individual Shootout runs against the clock narrowed the world's top male riders to the elite 64 who will contend in the individual Finals of the fastest sport on skates this Saturday, with the times determining the brackets for the opening heats. Topping the timesheet with 43.07 seconds was Quebec's own Dean Moriarity, who finished third overall last season. Just two-hundredths of a second behind him was Naasz, who was second on the 2015 overall podium, while France's Tristan Dugerdil had the third-best Shootout time.
Less than three-quarters of a second separated the top eight riders, who also included 2014 World Champion Marco Dallago of Austria in seventh and Croxall in eighth.
The women's Shootout gave spectators a preview of this season's battle for the first women's Ice Cross Downhill World Championship ever to be awarded, with a total of 24 athletes from seven countries blasting through the start gates. Ontario's Jacqueline Legere clocked the best time, with fellow Canadian Myriam Trepanier and the USA's Alexis Jackson in second and third, respectively.
Clear skies are predicted as Red Bull Crashed Ice continues in Quebec City on Saturday with the men's and women's individual events that will award the first points toward the 2015/16 Ice Cross Downhill World Championship.
Results Team Competition: 1. Living the Dream (Cameron Naasz USA; Scott Croxall CAN; Adam Horst CAN), 2. Team UNRL (Matt Johnson USA; Daniel Bergeson USA; Tommy Mertz USA, Maxwell Dunne USA), 3. Steal17 (Reed Whiting USA, Daniel Guolla CAN, Dean Moriarity CAN, Dylan Moriarity CAN), 4. Alpine Rockets (Pacôme Schmitt FRA, Tristan Dugerdil FRA, Kilian Braun SUI, Derek Wedge SUI), 5. Couch Garden Crew (Marco Dallago AUT, Luca Dallago AUT, John Fisher CAN, Andreas Wirnstl GER)
Watch Red Bull Crashed Ice Quebec City LIVE!
Broadcast: We will stream the competition from Round of 32 LIVE on redbullcrashedice.com and on Red Bull TV. Red Bull TV is available on connected TVs, gaming consoles, mobile devices and more. For a full list of supported devices visit about.redbull.tv.
Note that the live webcast is geo-blocked in the US due to an exclusive broadcast deal with FOX Sports.
Start Times: 8.30pm EST on November 28 / 2.30am CET on November 29
Video on Demand: The VoD will be available in the US only after the event will be aired on Fox Sports 1 (Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 9:30 am EST). In all other countries, the VoD will be available a few minutes after the event on redbullcrashedice.com and Red Bull TV.
TV: The main event will also broadcast live on several TV stations around the globe. Please check local listings for details.
Live Results: For real-time results and standings visit redbullcrashedice.com/results