The top Americans in the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship have been racing for less than two years but Cameron Naasz and Reed Whiting are hoping hard training in the off-season and a ferocious dedication to the sport will pay off in Saint Paul.
American Cameron Naasz came to the first Red Bull Crashed Ice race in Saint Paul two years ago on a lark as a curious college student when a friend suggested he might be good at ice cross downhill. The man from Minnesota fell head over heels in love with the fastest sport on skates while racing in front of 100,000 spectators to become one of the world's best racers, taking third place overall in 2013.
The 23-year-old from Lakeville, Minnesota, was one of the top favourites at the season opener in Helsinki two weeks ago but got caught up in heavy traffic on the ice track in the semi-finals on the comparatively short 290-meter-long track in Finland and ended up a disappointing seventh. But Naasz, whose quick rise to the top of the sport reflects the surging US popularity of the rough and tumble high speed action of ice cross downhill, is determined to use every inch of the longer 430-meter track in his home state to get on the podium and revive his title hopes.
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"I'm really looking forward to Saint Paul and would like to get on the podium to stay in contention for the world title," said Naasz, who as an unheralded walk-on two years ago finished 24th before rocketing to a victory in Lausanne, Switzerland, last year and winning podiums in three of five races last year. "But more importantly I want to podium in Saint Paul to show my hometown, my family, friends and fans how far I've come and how hard I've been working to achieve everything so far in my short career."
In the two years since Red Bull Crashed Ice race debuted in Saint Paul – which was the first race in the United States since 2004 – ice cross downhill has become a popular winter sport and features on many TV broadcasts, including NBC's Red Bull Signature Series in 2013 and this year on Fox Sports 1. More than 100,000 fans are expected in Saint Paul for the racing from February 20 to 22.
The sport appeals to what Americans like most in sports – a physically-challenging, rough, tough sport coupled with high-speed action and agility. Americans have done surprisingly well as neophytes in their first few years in the sport, despite having far less experience than established nations like Canada, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Naasz, and fellow American Reed Whiting, a turtle farmer who got a career-best ninth place in Helsinki after qualifying in a stunning third place, have helped take the sport to a new level with rigorous off-season training and innovative efforts to workout to replicate the rare and hard-to-find combination of ice on a downhill slope.
"What an opportunity this is to be part of an event of this magnitude in front of a hometown crowd," said Whiting, who was a walk-on last year in Saint Paul and got 57th place before getting 31st in his second race in Lausanne and then jumping up into the ranks of the top favourites with 9th in Helsinki in only his fourth race after training hard all summer. "It's truly amazing how the sport has grown in the United States in the last two years and I'm just happy to be part of it."
Whiting, 33, played hockey in college at Ohio State but thought his days as a competitive athlete were over – until he raced in Saint Paul last year. He made a huge commitment to take part in two more races last year and he spent the off-season in skate parks and training almost full-time to become one of the fastest starters.
"I had some regrets from my hockey career and always wished I'd have been a little more focused and worked a little harder," Whiting said. "I hate having 'What ifs?' in life and Red Bull Crashed Ice has given me an opportunity to rectify those mistakes when I was a bit younger. The sport has become my priority and well worth building my whole life around. It's great to get a second chance that rarely comes in sports at the age of 33."
Watch Red Bull Crashed Ice in Saint Paul live!
Catch all the action from Red Bull Crashed Ice in the USA:
Webcast: For regions outside of the U.S., the competition will be streamed here on redbullcrashedice.com, Red Bull TV and Apple TV from 2am (CET) on February 23. Please note that the live webcast is geo-blocked in the US. The event will be broadcast in the U.S. on FOX Sports 1 on Monday, February 24, at 9.30pm (ET) / 6.30pm (PT).
TV: The main event will broadcast on FOX Sports 1 on Monday, February 24, at 9:30 p.m. (ET) / 6:30 p.m. (PT).
Live Results: To get results and standings in real-time, go to redbullcrashedice.com/results.
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