The Red Bull Crashed Ice world championship visited Valkenburg for the first time in 2011. We were there and enjoyed a day full of spectacle. The area at the back of the Holland Casino was transformed to an Ice Cross Downhill course which attracted 35.000 people.
For 2012 Red Bull promised to organise an even more spectacle with a new track which will end in the towncentre of Valkenburg. The expectations were high! The two weeks before the event social media showed us some pictures off the course building. And it looked good!
But…. 1 day before the event the Netherlands got covered by lots of snow which lamed almost the complete country. The temperature dropped dramatic to minus 13 degrees, something the average Dutchie can’t stand….
On saturday we flipped coins to decide how to travel to Valkenburg. The road should be slippery, so the train should be the best option. During the day more and more train tracts seemed to fail. We decided to loan a car and go to Valkenburg. On the road it wasn’t as slippery as expected so within an hour we parked near the finish of the event.
What a course! During the Red Bull District Ride in Nurnberg the complete city was transformed into a downhill mountainike paradise, but they did it with some course obstacles. That’s not how Crashed Ice works. For this event they need to build a course from top to bottom to give the athletes huge ice cross downhill course. It’s so good to see that Red Bull is able to organize such mayor events in the Netherlands!
Also deep respect for the audience who traveled to Valkenburg. It was just so cold during the day, and in the evening it’s getting worse by the minute. We were able to warm up when necessary by just entering a building near the course. But the audience got what they deserved. A super spectacular race with impressive crashes. Canadian Kyle Croxall showed Valkenburg why he is one of the favorites. Too bad the Dutch competitors didn’t make it to the finals, but they have 2 more races to show their skills. You could see that there’s more in it. Too bad it didn’t work out in their country.
For those who didn’t visit this event: you really missed something! It’s just a shame that there aren’t many big funsport events in the Netherlands. This was your chance. Red Bull showed the Dutch spectators how to organize an event!
