Swatch Pro Team Win Inaugural Team Competition Title

Switzerland's three-man Swatch Pro Team pulled off a clutch victory over Team Finland to win their second race of the 2012/13 season and take the first-ever Ice Cross Downhill Team Competition World Championship on a freezing cold night in Canada on Friday.

'It's a great feeling to win the world championship' – Kilian Braun

The two Canadian-led title hopefuls, of International Gladiators and Living The Dream, had a chance for the inaugural championship going into the final race but were beaten in earlier rounds and ended up in second and third place overall in an action-packed season of racing that saw two teams of three athletes going head-to- head downhill on steep ice tracks filled with jumps, bumps and a frightening corkscrew turn.

The Swatch Pro Team made up of an ever-improving Kim Muller and Jim De Paoli along with Kilian Braun clinched the title even before the final when their last remaining rival, Living The Dream, were beaten in the semi-finals by Team Finland made up of Paavo Klintrup, Miikka Jouhkimainen and Lari Joutsenlahti.

Living The Dream knocked out the third title contender, International Gladiators, in the quarter finals. A total of 89 teams took part in the racing this season.

It was a sweet victory for the Swiss team, which has practiced together this year on one of the world's first permanent ice cross downhill tracks in Switzerland. Even though Canada has dominated Red Bull Crashed Ice in recent years and will have 30 of the 64 spots in Saturday's individual finals, the Swiss team won both the season opener in Niagara Falls, Canada, in December as well as in Quebec.

"It's a great feeling to win the race and the world championship right here in Canada – that'll give us a lot of confidence going into next year," said Braun. "It's an incredible feeling to win the first-ever world championship in the Team Competition."