How fast crashed ice

Racers are coming from 20 different countries, and will start arriving early next week to test out the track. More than construction workers have been busy getting the track ready for the last month. Social Sharing. Red Bull Crashed Ice returns to Edmonton 4 years ago This is the first time they've built a track in Edmonton. A team of 24 ice makers will take six days to make the ice on the track, which will be from eight to 11 centimetres thick.

New this year is a feature called the Canadian Big Air, a section of track expected to produce jaw-dropping jumps. Once it becomes race night, that's all forgotten about for a bit. Outside of a small but growing circle, ice cross downhill racers are not celebrities, and the sport has yet to make any competitor rich.

But more and more skaters keep getting into the circuit and more and more fans keep showing up to races because while perhaps a touch unusual, there is an elegant purity to a downhill ice race absent in many sports. A to meter racecourse leaves no room for error; take a turn too wide, and you lose that half-second that might make the difference at the finish line. Come off a jump too high, and your competitor might be able to turn inside.

Fall, and that's it, you lost the heat. And with racers nearing 50 miles per hour — Reed Whiting told me that a 47 MPH speed is the current record — there is always the chance for that fall to be dramatic to say the least.

But in most races, no one falls and the victor wins by hundredths of a second. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Steven John. Now in its 18th year, Red Bull Crashed Ice races have grown from a spectacle into a genuine sport, with racers from around the globe vying for championship titles.

The fastest speed recorded during an ice cross downhill race clocked a racer skating at just over 47 miles per hour. Ice cross downhill has the potential to be an Olympic event, but it'll have to spread farther internationally to meet the Winter Games' barrier to entry for a new sport. It is a combination of hockey, boarder-cross, and downhill skiing. Known to many as the fastest sport on skates, but dictated by one goal: first to the bottom wins.

With only two riders going through to the next round, the competition is fierce. The athlete with the highest amount of points at the end of the season will become the World Champion. The Rider's Cup competition is designed to make the sport of Ice Cross Downhill more accessible to even more athletes worldwide. A custom-built 1,ft urban ice track will be riddled with a 90ft vertical drop, hairpin turns, big-air jumps, step ups, drop-offs, obstacles and gaps.

Encompassing a downhill battle where athletes can reach speeds of more than 40 MPH. Athletes ranked first to fourth for each particular event are allocated positions according to their place in the final heat. Athletes ranked fifth to eighth are ranked according to their place in the small final.

All remaining athletes are ranked according to the round in which they were eliminated. Athletes - male or female, amateur or pro - from a variety of disciplines including hockey, downhill skiing, speed skating and boarder-cross can register for Red Bull Crashed Ice. Visiting www. Go to atsx. Athletes must be 18 years of age to participate and will need to sign a disclaimer before heading down the start ramp.

No athlete shall be allowed to start without having produced a signed disclaimer. Red Bull Crashed Ice is free and open to the public, however you can purchase tickets for premier viewing areas. Although none of the viewing areas capture the entire track, there will be three large screens projecting the races from every angle.