Six-time Olympic medallist Rintje Ritsma, of the Netherlands, and 63 other racers advanced on Thursday to the Elimination Round of the ice cross downhill world championship by mastering the most challenging Red Bull Crashed Ice track ever built in Valkenburg. They will battle it out on Friday to win spots in Saturday’s final for the second race of the 2012 world championship.
Watch Saturday's race live on redbull.tv! Live coverage gets underway at 6pm (CET)
Ritsma is a legend in Holland for his Olympic heroics, but the towering speed skater has got caught up in the excitement of ice cross downhill and made it through the first round on Thursday, taking 54th place out of 98 starters in the National Shoot Out.
Ritsma, who believes ice cross downhill should become an Olympic sport, needed just 64.33 seconds to get down the treacherous 575-metre track with its frighteningly steep descent at the start and was only 15 seconds behind the fastest on Thursday, Derek Wedge, of Switzerland.
'You really have to keep your head if you want to avoid getting injured'
“It went well today,” said Ritsma, who was one of the world’s best ever speed skaters on flat oval tracks with two silver Olympic medals and four bronze. “Yesterday I was a bit hesitant when I first saw this track. It’s really intense. Not only do you hit tremendous speeds on this track but it’s tricky. It would be nice to advance tomorrow through to the next round.”
Four Dutchmen finished in the top 10, with Wesley de Bruin leading the way in fourth place, Frank Wilting taking fifth, Koen de Haas, in seventh, and Ian Coumans taking ninth.
Valkenburg has been turned upside down for the weekend’s race, with the thrill-filled track ending in the centre of town. There were scores of high-speed crashes on Thursday in the National Shoot Out, drawing cheers from the spectators. Temperatures were well below zero, with the entire region in a deep frost covered with snow.
The international racers will take to the track on Friday for the first time with training and the International Shoot Out at 7pm ahead of the Elimination Round against the top 64 from Thursday’s National Shoot Out.
Attending this weekend's event in Valkenburg? Get a crash course on the Dutch town with wakeboarder Duncan Zuur and redbullcrashedice.com
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