WCCO Gets A Behind The Scenes Look At Red Bull Crashed Ice
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – With the St. Paul Winter Carnival kicking off, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the winter weather this weekend.
That includes one big event that's back for another round – Red Bull Crashed Ice.
Red Bull Crashed Ice was even named to CNN's list of "19 events worth traveling for in 2015."
With racers reaching speeds of 60 mph, it's no wonder last year's Red Bull Crashed Ice event brought more 120,000 spectators to St. Paul.
WCCO's Ali Lucia caught up with Rochester native, and former Ohio State hockey player, Reed Whiting before this weekend's high flying competition.
"It's a real mixture of 5 to 6 different disciplines: downhill mountain biking, BMX, hockey, freestyle skiing and inline roller blading. If you mesh all those things together in a racing environment, that's what we've got," Whiting, who picked up this sport just few years ago, said. "So, you have to be good at so many different things to be good at ice crossed downhill."
Whiting, who turns 35 in March, takes his training regimen very seriously. In fact, he trains year round.
WCCO asked Reed -- what's the key to being successful in the competition?
"A lot of it is just center of balance," Whiting said. "With skates, you're landing a jump going 60 to 70 feet in the air, you have to be precise, perfect balance, otherwise you're going down."
Reed must be doing something right, in just his second year of competing on the World Tour, Whiting finished sixth. Now in year three he's hoping for even better results.
"This year we're going for number one," Whiting said.
A full schedule of events for Red Bull Crashed Ice is listed below.
Friday, Jan. 23
12 p.m.
International Shootout
*100 male athletes try to advance to the final 64
Women Shootout
*All women compete and top 16 advance
3 p.m.
Elimination Round
*Male athletes race down the course. Each heat has four racers and the top two advance to the finals.
6 p.m.
Team Challenge
*The World's Top 24 teams battle head to head all to earn World Series points. The head-to-head is done in knockout format.
Saturday, Jan. 24
5 p.m.
Gates open
5 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Red Bull Crashed Ice Village
*West 7th Street – FREE, Family Friendly, Live Music, Food and On-street Beverages
6:45 p.m.
Event Starts
*The 64 fastest male skaters race through heats until the winner is crowned. Also, the top 16 female athletes race down the course for the championship.
