(L-R) Cameron Naasz (USA) – Charlie Wasley (USA) – Derek Wedge (SUI) – Action 23.Jan 2013
SAINT PAUL MN – Cold weather is making for near perfect conditions for the Red Bull Crashed Ice event in Saint Paul Minnesota.
Jack Frost has been holding a tight grip on the Midwest in the United States ahead of the second Ice Cross Downhill world championship race of the season at the venue for the Red Bull Crashed Ice event in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Temperatures plunged to more than 30 degrees below zero overnight, such bitter cold that even the anti-freeze fluids on hand at the 400-meter long ice track in front of the city’s Cathedral also froze solid.
But that did not deter some of the heartiest racers in the sport. Several participants took advantage of the opportunity for an unusual ice-cold training session. In the “land of 10,000 lakes”, J.T. Johnson set up an Ice Cross test track with jumps on the ice of Lake Minnetonka. Two local stars Cameron Naasz and Charlie Wasley as well as the two Swiss standouts Claudio Calouri and Derek Wedge got up some speed with the help of a buggy on the ice before they practiced a few hair-raising jumps under the ice-cold conditions.
Red Bull Crashed Ice in Saint Paul MN January 2013 by netnewsledger
Wedge had an opportunity at the end of the spontaneous testing session for a unique tour of the lake. Woody Love, from the neighboring town of Shoreland, gave the man from Switzerland a high-speed ride across the lake by towing him with his ice sailboat. Despite strong winds, Wedge got up to 60 mph. “I didn’t want him to go that fast but he just didn’t listen to me,” said Wedge afterwards with a smile. “But it turned out to be a truly special experience.”
Atheletes will now be using the ice track directly in the center of Saint Paul and the world’s best 64 racers will meet on Saturday 26 January in the final.
