Claudio Caluori was fascinated by Red Bull Crashed Ice when he first saw a video of previous events. A few days later, he rented a pair of skates and started skating; just months later, he was standing on the slope at a Red Bull Crashed Ice event.
The Swiss tells us about the journey that has brought him to the latest event, part of the Red Bull Crashed Ice world championship in Québec, taking place on March 20.
“I had no idea what an icy slope was going to be like. I could definitely feel there was still something left of what I learned during the nine years that I seriously played hockey as a kid. No question, I had to buy some skates and start training – daily or, even better, twice a day.
Seeing that motivation, Red Bull got me to be part of the organisation of the qualifier events and to work on the track of the first Swiss Red Bull Crashed Ice in Davos. And I got to represent Switzerland at the [first] event in Québec, which was not only a very bright highlight, but also a huge challenge, since Québec has been the most demanding Red Bull Crashed Ice track in the last few years.
"Getting to race against Canadian hockey players was more than exciting and I was more than happy to qualify for the finals at my first Red Bull Crashed Ice! I was counting more on my downhill background than on my skating skills to achieve this goal.
'Any way of being part of this event just has the same effect. The focus, the adrenaline rush, the thousands of excited spectators, the other athletes, the party…'
"The race in Davos had a really steep start section that scared most of the participants, but since I had seen the Québec track before, it didn’t frighten me as much. Other racers noticed my skating skills were not the best and therefore couldn’t quite understand how I could sprint full speed out of the start into the steep slope. That’s why they reckoned I just had to be crazy because of my downhill background.
"One year later, I got to race in Québec again, now definitely with better skills and better run times. It was also the year of one of the most amazing experiences, the Red Bull Crashed Ice in Lausanne, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. There, I got the chance to be part of the organisation from the beginning, which was an incredibly intense experience. Racing in it as well gave it the ultimate buzz.
"Not finishing in the top three of the Swiss athletes didn’t leave me a spot on the Swiss team for 2010, though, but it did open the door to a new approach to the Red Bull Crashed Ice… I got to be the camera rider and commentator.
"Any way of being part of this event just has the same effect. The focus, the adrenaline rush, the thousands of excited spectators, the other athletes, the party… it all just leads to a brain reset that lets you fly home with nothing in your head but the memories of the last two days. And while the flight home continues and your brain slowly starts remembering who you are and where you’re from, you start thinking about how long you will have to wait until the next Red Bull Crashed Ice comes…”
Claudio Caluori was talking to Zeynep Dönmez
Comments
Add a comment