SAINT PAUL, Minn., Jan. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Minnesotans
captured the imaginations of 140,000 passionate fans on a magical
night in Saint Paul, as
Cameron Naasz of Lakeville and Dan
Witty of New Prague rode
the energy of the home crowd to the final round at Red Bull Crashed
Ice 2015. When the night was over, though, Canadian Kyle Croxall was again the last man standing, as
he took the top spot in Saint Paul
for the third time in four years. Fans can relive the action
tomorrow, January 25 on FOX at
3:00PM CST. The race will re-air
January 26 on FOX Sports 1 at
6:30PM CST.
"I got my hat trick in Minnesota this year. Apparently I like this
course," said Croxall. "My confidence is up again, so that's good
for Finland. We'll see what
happens."
2015 was the first year to feature a full women's competition.
16 of the top female ice cross downhill riders entered Saturday
night, with the winner earning a trip to Edmonton, Canada. Americans Sadie Lundquist and Sydney O'Keefe shined in front of their hometown
crowds, reaching the semi-finals in exciting fashion. The women's
final round featured three Canadian riders and Salla Kyhala of
Finland. Kyhala displayed
excellence in capturing the top spot and winning the female
competition in Saint Paul.
"Every time you get up there you get pumped and nervous and get
that adrenaline going," said Kyhala. "That's what I'm seeking. It
was an amazing atmosphere today and the crowd was awesome."
The crowd, which was the largest ever at a Red Bull Crashed Ice
event, was into the action early, as the first two rounds featured
exciting upsets, nail-biting action, and impressive performances by
the American riders. U.S. athletes Jonny
Palmeri, Matt Johnson,
Tommy Mertz and Adam Green all outperformed their rankings in
the first round, building buzz for the Americans that would
foreshadow what was to come.
The quarter-finals poised the first major challenge of the night
for Naasz, who managed to maintain his balance through an early
collision, but found himself in the third spot late in the run.
Naasz engineered a masterful pass late in the course and raised his
hands as he powered across the finish line ahead of the rest of the
heat.
"I trained hard in the offseason, so I knew I had the legs,"
said Naasz. "I gave it everything I had. In training I practiced
staying low and staying fast, and so I was able to carry a lot of
momentum. I was pretty fired up."
The semi-finals were smoother sailing for Naasz. Despite a
stacked heat, the hometown hero led wire to wire and set himself up
with a return trip to the final round for the third year in a
row.
All eyes were on Naasz to start the night, but Dan Witty did his part to capture the attention
of the hometown crowd. Starting the night as an underdog in
his first heat, Witty persevered round after round, skating with
confidence and consistency to advance past the world's top riders.
Excitement built each time the pride of New Prague finished in the top two in a heat,
and the buzz reached its peak when Witty advanced passed the
semi-finals into the final round.
"This is my third year in Saint
Paul and last year I thought I could have done better. I've
been thinking about that moment ever since and training hard for
this season," said Witty. "I wanted to make the podium and it just
feels great to do it in front of the home crowd here."
Opposing the two Americans – Cam
Naasz and Dan Witty – in the
finals were Kyle Croxall and
Dean Moriarty of Canada. Crowd excitement was at its highest
level as the Saint Paul Cathedral
organ played "The Final Countdown" and locals anticipated the first
American victory in the four-year history of the Saint Paul event. However, Naasz battled skate
trouble and couldn't recover from an early hit to the boards. Witty
held the third position throughout the race. At the end,
Kyle Croxall's skill and experience
persevered, as the Canadian won the Saint
Paul race for the third time in four years. His other two
victories came in 2012 and 2013.
B-Roll from tonight's event and an edited action clip from
tonight's event will be available for download at
www.redbullcrashedicenewsroom.com.
The Red Bull Crashed Ice tour has added a new stop to the 2015
schedule. The tour makes it way to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the first time
in between its annual stops to Finland and Canada.
The Red Bull
Crashed Ice 2015 calendar is as follows:
|
January 24,
2015
|
Saint Paul,
USA
|
February 7,
2015
|
Helsinki,
Finland
|
February 21,
2015
|
Belfast, Northern
Ireland
|
March 14,
2015
|
Edmonton,
Canada
|
Points are up for grabs at each of the four stops of the Ice
Cross Downhill World Championship: the winner collects 1,000 points
and competitors all the way down to 100th (0.5 point) can collect
valuable points. The athletes that finishes the season with the
most points after the four races is crowned champion.
For more information on Red Bull Crashed Ice, the U.S.
qualifiers and global stops, please visit
www.redbullcrashedice.com. For photography, footage and
additional information on previous Red Bull Crashed Ice seasons,
visit www.redbullcrashedicenewsroom.com.
LOOKING FOR RED BULL VIDEO AND PHOTOS?
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are captured and made immediately available for editorial use for
all media channels including television, film, print, mobile, and
digital. For a full selection of video and still images, please
visit the Red Bull Content Pool for media partners at
www.redbullcrashedicenewsroom.com.
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SOURCE Red Bull