Five of the favourites for Saturday's Red Bull Crashed Ice race took to the frozen banks of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday – ahead of the second stop in the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship.
The world's fastest sport on skates met the mighty Mississippi as five top riders took advantage of an uncharacteristically warm and sunny day to train on the frozen river's edge, jumping over obstacles like boats trapped in the ice.
Joining 2013 world champion Derek Wedge, of Switzerland, were Marco Dallago, of Austria, fresh off his first career win at the 2014 season opener in Helsinki, and Swiss adrenaline junkie Kilian Braun, as well as Americans Cameron Naasz and Reed Whiting, both Minnesota natives.
All were in high spirits, especially Naasz: the third-place overall finisher in the 2013 World Championship is expecting all his friends and family to be cheering him on in a crowd of knowledgeable fans who will line the 430-metre-long custom course under the gaze of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. It's predicted that as many as 100,000 spectators will take in the finals on February 22, some of them for the third time as the event is holding its third consecutive event in the city.
As the contenders checked out the riverbank scene on what was one of Saint Paul's first days above freezing in many weeks, Naasz grabbed a rowboat oar. "Maybe I'll paddle my way to the podium!" he joked. "This is my home race, so I can hardly wait."
Watch Red Bull Crashed Ice in Saint Paul!
Catch all the action from Red Bull Crashed Ice in the USA:
Webcast: We will stream the entire competition live right here on redbullcrashedice.com, Red Bull TV and Apple TV. Please note that the live webcast is geo-blocked in the US. The event will be broadcast nationally for the first time on Fox Sports 1 on Monday, February 24, at 9.30pm (ET) / 6.30pm (PT).
TV: The main event will be broadcast live on several TV stations outside the United States. Please check local listings.
Live Results: To get results and standings in real-time, hit redbullcrashedice.com/results.
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