As adrenalin junkies (and those who get their kicks watching adrenalin junkies) flock by the tens of thousands to Southern Ontario for this weekend’s kick-start to the Red Bull Crashed Ice 2013 world championships, we take a numerical look at the unique athletic test that promises to splash extra wonder upon Niagara Falls this Saturday.
2 Croxalls ranked among the world’s top three, Mississauga brothers Kyle and Scott
50 percentage of 2012’s races (two of four) Kyle won en route to his first overall championship
4 weeks in took a crew of hundreds to assemble this weekend’s downhill course
7 natural wonders of the world, Niagara Falls being one of them
7 pieces of required safety equipment that must be worn in order to compete
15 Canadian men ranked among the world’s top 64, who needn’t qualify for a spot on the tour
18 minimum age to compete
20 kilometres of electrical cable needed to light the track
30 degrees, pitch of the course’s initial drop
65 km/h approximate top speed of an elite ice cross downhill racer
56.3 km/h speed of Niagara River water as it drops off the Falls
4.5 metres, in width, of the urban ice track
460 metres, in length, of the Niagara Falls urban track, which begins at the Skylon Tower, winds, dips and plummets downhill and finishes at an overlook of the Falls
75 feet, in height, of the Niagara start structure – the highest and steepest in history
250 feet, the vertical drop of the Niagara course
775 feet, in height, of the Skylon Tower
Catch the Red Bull Crashed Ice Niagara Falls finals live on Sportsnet Saturday at 8:30 ET.
5,000+ pieces of steel scaffolding used in the course’s construction
6,000 athletes who tried to qualify for the 2013 series
100 Canadian men fast, agile, strong and lucky enough to make the cut for Niagara Falls
20 Canadian women quick enough to qualify
64 male (and 16 female) international athletes who will qualify for Saturday’s night’s finals
127,500 pounds of crushed ice used to form the track’s base layer; water is then sprayed over the track for 12 days to thicken the ice
2,500 cans of Red Bull allotted to the track construction team
160 calories in a regular can of the energy drink
7,500 hours devoted to setting up the track’s construction and ice formation
2001 year the Red Bull Crashed Ice debuted, in Stockholm, Sweden
2007 year Crashed Ice expanded from a one-off event to a two-city series
2010 year Crashed Ice earned formal world championship status
2011 year Crashed Ice expanded again, to a four-event circuit, each stop in a different country
5 stops in the 2013 tour, the most ever
7 Crashed Ice events won by Sweden’s Jasper Felder, a record
80,000 people expected to attend the first Niagara Falls Crashed Ice event on Dec. 1