Red Bull Crashed Ice Juniors Competition And Qualifiers Kick Off Seventh Year In Front of Electrify Saint Paul Crowd
For its seventh successive year, Red Bull Crashed Ice returned to Saint Paul tonight with the courageous athletes chasing maximum speed in the opening days’ time trials and challenger race.
In the Men’s shootout, the top of the pack was decided by fractions of seconds. Marco Dallago (AUS) finished in first with a time of 30.00 seconds, narrowly edging out Minnesota favorite and 2017 World Champion, Cameron Naasz, who clocked in at 30.08 minutes.
Minnesota native, Amanda Trunzo, sped up to first in the Women’s shootout with a time of 34.97 seconds, edging out reigning world champion Jacqueline Legere of Canada, who ranked second with a time of 35.85 seconds.
Canada’s Steve Cox won top honors in the freestyle competition after bringing the crew to its feet with a series of dazzling moves in the side act– including two impeccable Misty Fives.
Also on opening night, Mirko Lahti of Finland came out on top in the Ice Cross Downhill Junior World Championship race. The defending champion in the junior competition for 16-21-year-olds was in a league of his own, winning every heat from the round of 32 to the quarterfinals and semi-finals before once again commanding the four-man final for the fourth straight race.
“I’ve been training hard all offseason and I’ve got a lot of confidence,” said Lahti, who said his goal is to remain unbeaten in all four Junior World Championship races this year. He jumped into the lead from the first big turn, the BF Goodrich Grip Turn, and never looked backward.
In his first-ever Junior race, American Richie “Jo Jo” Velasquez came storming from behind to snatch second place to the delight of the large home crowd gathered to watch the world’s fastest sport on skates in front of the Saint Paul Cathedral.
The action continues tomorrow at 6:00 PM. Metro Transit will be offering free rides on any bus or rail line tomorrow to Red Bull Crashed Ice. Free passes can be downloaded here.
Red Bull TV will offer a dedicated 90-minute showcase tomorrow starting at 8:00 PM CT. Red Bull TV is distributed digitally as an app across mobile phones, tablets, consoles, OTT devices, Smart TVs and online at www.redbull.tv.
Saint Paul Shootout Results:
MEN: 1. Marco Dallago (AUT) 2. Cameron Naasz (USA) 3. Pacome Schmitt (FRA) 4. Luca Dallago (AUT) 5. Mirko Lahti (FIN) 6. Scott Croxall (CAN) 7. Maxwell Dunne (USA) 8. Markus Juola (FIN) 9. Michael Iulianello (USA) 10. Patrik Merz (SUI)
WOMEN: 1. Amanda Trunzo (USA) 2. Jacqueline Legere (CAN) 3. Myriam Trepanier (CAN) 4. Veronika Windisch (AUT) 5. Anais Morand (SUI) 6. Maxie Plante (CAN) 7. Tamara Kajah (CAN) 8. Michaela Michaelson (USA) 9. Elaine Topolnisky(CAN) 10. Junko Yamamoto (JPN)
JUNIOR CUP RESULTS: 1. Mirko Lahti (FIN) 2. Richie “Jo Jo” Velasquez (USA) 3. Joni Saarinen (FIN)
FREESTYLE SHOWCASE CHAMPION: Steven Cox (CAN)
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