SAINT PAUL MN – Entertainment – Team Canada is crushing the competition at the Red Bull Crushed Ice event in Saint Paul Minnesota. Canadians Scott Croxall, Adam Horst and Travis Nagata powered their way to a victory over another Canadian squad, “Team Ottawa”, in a nail-biting final of the Ice Cross Downhill Team Challenge competition on Friday night to cap an exciting day of Red Bull Crashed Ice racing.
10,000 screaming spectators lining the twisting, obstacle-filled track running from the Cathedral of Saint Paul towards the banks of the frozen-solid Mississippi River helped bring the competition to a heated level of fun and competition.
Red Bull Crushed Ice Competition
The Scott Croxall-led team “Living the Dream” beat the unheralded “Team Ottawa” squad. Croxall, picking up his first-ever Red Bull Crashed Ice career victory, had an outstanding day in Saint Paul. He was the fastest qualifier of the day in the International Shootout earlier on Friday, stopping the clock in 34.77 seconds ahead of Russia’s Andrey Lavrov and emerging as the man to beat in Saturday’s finals. Then in the evening, as temperatures plunged far below zero Celsius, Croxall was unbeatable throughout the team competition, taking first place three times in the three knock-out rounds and even outskating his older brother Kyle in the semi-finals.
“I’m just hungry for a win and it’s about time,” said Scott Croxall, who is eager to emerge from the shadows of his older brother, the 2012 world champion who also won the 2012/13 season opener in December in Niagara Falls, Canada. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck in the past and I’m ready to prove myself here. I’m healthy, I’ve been training really hard and I’m ready for a big couple of races.”
“Team Ottawa” was the surprise package of the evening. Ranked only 19th, the team of Daniel Guolla, Ghyslain Hotte and Adam Skube carved their way confidently through the field, upsetting favorites Swatch ProTeam that won the season opener in Niagara Falls in the quarter-finals and then “Mountain Rockers” in the semi-final.
Thousands of hearty Minnesota fans watched the action on the high-speed downhill track filled with jumps, bumps, hairy turns and assorted obstacles. They cheered the strong improvements in the American racers in the year since Ice Cross Downhill made its triumphant return to the United States after a decade’s absence. “Zubz” led by Cameron Naasz was the top American squad in the team competition, helped by teammates Daniel and Andrew Bergeson. They took seventh place. Saturday´s final begin at 6:30 p.m., in 2012 80,000 people watched the action.
Red Bull Crushed Ice 2012 in Saint Paul MN
St. Paul hosts the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships 2012 by Red Bull
