Red Bull Crashed Ice - On bikes!

by Tyler Maine
Feb 7, 2012


Four pro riders, one spectacular track made of ice... Joost Wichman (4X), Nico Vink (downhill), Rick Koekoek (trail) and Martijn Jaspers (BMX) added a whole new dimension to the term gravity mountainbiking last Saturday, as they during Red Bull Crashed Ice, in Valkenburg, The Netherlands.

The crowd (25.000+) did not know what hit them. Right before the big final was about to start, they saw four men on bikes flying by. The riders were only a fraction slower than the skaters. Although the track was not entirely suitable, it was clear that this side-event is worth further development.

The audience and the organizers were impressed with the rider and the show they put on. The chances are high that the concept will be repeated. The idea comes from Joost's company Thirty7even, as they specialize in sports promotion, and was developed in cooperation with Red Bull Netherlands.

Video credits: BKN Dirt Productions

Photo credits: Red Bull Newsroom
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85 Comments

  • + 49
flag octalex1 (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:07)
 that looks so sketchy
  • + 2
flag iChimp (Feb 7, 2012 at 11:49)
 Reminds me of ice speedway. MADNESSS
  • - 28
flag Orsumness (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:26) (Below Threshold) show comment
 It looks like fun if it wasn't on ice. It's called 4X...
  • + 41
flag Waldon83 (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:01)
 I don't think UCI will approve this.
Turns out they can be massive killjoys.
  • + 3
flag scott-townes (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:59)
 ^ That would be a good thing I would think... haha.

With studded tires, biking on ice is incredibly fun and not as sketch as you would think. I highly suggest it if you have a frozen pond or lake you could try it on. I'd love to see more of this, although if you did crash, it could get nasty fast.
  • + 18
flag Bjammin (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:03)
 need to do it on a luge track haha
  • - 2
flag TrekSession8 (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:17)
 they could replace 4x with this and i wouldnt mind at all
  • - 3
flag bkbroiler (Feb 7, 2012 at 17:42)
 can't be as bad as crash with blades on...
  • + 4
flag finnrambo (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:05)
 lol Bjammin I do skeleton and can honestly say youd need a change of underwear if you did the track on a bike...
  • + 2
flag Bjammin (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:45)
 it was kind of a joke... but if they just put a few of those giant ice berms in a track like this, it could be even sicker
  • + 1
flag finnrambo (Feb 8, 2012 at 0:28)
 haha yeah ik it was a joke, and ye the ice berms are awesome but going the speed and pulling those G's in the corners your suspension would bottom out painfully
  • - 1
flag abzillah (Feb 8, 2012 at 9:40)
 I'm not impressed. Not that sketchy at all when you have spikes on your tires. I didn't see anyone go sliding out of control, while real dirt, sand and mud can be much sketchier.
  • + 4
flag scott-townes (Feb 8, 2012 at 10:12)
 ^ Have you ever ridden on ice before? It's not as sketch as people think, yeah, but the instant you turn a bit too sharp or get on the side nobs a bit too heavily, you're down. Judging how sketchy this is by watching 4 professional riders do it is about as stupid as saying that Val di Sole is not hard at all because the WC guys make it look easy.
  • + 1
flag aaronclixby7 (Feb 8, 2012 at 10:59)
 iv "ridden" val di sol a two days after the wc race. i say ridden but it was the sketchiest thing iv ever done.
  • + 0
flag finnrambo (Feb 8, 2012 at 11:01)
 sketchy was champery 2011
  • - 2
flag abzillah (Feb 8, 2012 at 23:07)
 "scott-townes (13 hours ago)
^ Have you ever ridden on ice before?"

yes, I have ridden on snow and ice, and what I'm saying is that having spikes on your tires makes it easier to ride, and defeats the purpose of riding on ice. It takes skills to ride on ice WITHOUT spikes on your tires. You know very well that with spikes it's not anymore sketch than riding in dirt. This has nothing to do with them being pros.
  • + 2
flag cglasford (Feb 9, 2012 at 5:30)
 dude that track wouldn't have been possible with out spikes! those guys would have crashed after every jump. Spikes are a must and even with spikes its not as secure as riding on dirt! those guys were pros and if lesser riders would have been out there we would have seen as many crashes as the skater guys have! mad props to those guys! oh and i've riden ice too, I'm from MN the land of 9 month winters
  • + 1
flag Rien (Feb 9, 2012 at 6:47)
 @Abzillah, just eat you're icecream, when you can eat it it doesn't mean you're a pro riding on it-_-
  • + 0
flag scott-townes (Feb 9, 2012 at 7:33)
 "It takes skills to ride on ice WITHOUT spikes on your tires."

Welp that about sums up the level of intelligence here...
[Reply]
  • + 24
flag colonel-matrix (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:27)
 Too much talk, not enough riding !!!
  • + 6
flag alex888vf2 (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:35)
 they need to make the same thing at The quebec crashed ice that would be crazy
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag cwtrials (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:31)
 Rick Koekoek is a TRIALS rider not TRAIL. Argh.

Super cool event though, looks really sketch.
  • + 1
flag cyberhawk Plus (Feb 8, 2012 at 7:15)
 i was looking for someone to say that too.. tyler maine > you FAIL.. esp since this is a bike site lol
[Reply]
  • + 6
flag bigdan30 (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:14)
 Nico Vink Rick Koekoek - that flows so well; it should be a song or something.
[Reply]
  • + 5
flag reallybigmantis (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:20)
 so, usually ice skaters race down that?!?
  • + 3
flag yeahbro (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:23)
 yeah its really entertaining sometimes they even throw elbows and hits!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag galliwasp (Feb 8, 2012 at 6:28)
 Anyone ever make a set of spiked tires? I whipped up a set eons ago. Pretty damn heavy, hey? They work like a charm though, that be for true. Tip -- take are not to have the front tire saw into the fork arch.

Aside, riding that course on a bike would be cool, sketchy fun; however, to skate down would be straight up buck nutty.
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag epoit (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:46)
 TO ALL THE PLUGS WHO THINK THE TRACK WAS MADE FOR BIKES: it was not, its is basically 4X on skates, the bikes just made a guest appearance
  • + 3
flag SuperSlowDH (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:57)
 Has anyone said anything like that?
  • + 4
flag epavichthesavage (Feb 7, 2012 at 20:54)
 THIS IS A SERIOUS COMMENT
  • + 3
flag helibike (Feb 7, 2012 at 22:11)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U7Lqwl3Vzk&feature=related
[Reply]
  • + 4
flag bigb73 (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:14)
 How much F'n money does Redbull have to throw at stuff like this??
  • + 1
flag klopp (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:50)
 What do you think their profit margin is? It probably costs just as much to make the can as it does the contents inside....pure speculation on my part though.
  • + 2
flag bigb73 (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:35)
 Redbull is a private company with an estimated worth of 11 billion. WOW!!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag georgy291 (Feb 8, 2012 at 4:15)
 redbull we love you, can we actually start a pro series wit this? think about it, it includes the element of surprise in to the competition so graves wouldnt always win
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag sfjeldheim (Feb 8, 2012 at 4:19)
 Nice!

Reminds me of a test I did for a couple years ago with my homemade spike tires on a icy road...

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/83206/
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag mickeydesadist2 (Feb 7, 2012 at 14:06)
 I love the tyres - being a Canadian I could use them for part of a year - but not this year in Southern Ontario!.
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag spankthewan (Feb 7, 2012 at 20:32)
 *as they during Red Bull Crashed Ice, in Valkenburg, The Netherlands.*
A few beers in, and you waste 20 minutes of my time trying to figure out if it's me or the author who has some screws loose. Come on, Pinkbike.
  • + 2
flag epavichthesavage (Feb 7, 2012 at 20:55)
 Yeah imagine all the productive things you could have been doing on those other websites
[Reply]
  • + 3
flag stevo87 (Feb 7, 2012 at 11:58)
 And as a final touch, God created the Dutch!! Cool Cool vid..
  • + 1
flag lars123123 (Feb 8, 2012 at 3:43)
 Pre-final the Belgian, Nico Vink was second Smile
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag jakesession7 (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:19)
 I've heard of ice skating but that ridiculous. but looks hella fun. 2 thumbs upSmile
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag murd1 (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:26)
 Seems every day Red Bull supports something i'm interested in. Guess I should buy a can some day.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag baca262 (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:36)
 anyone knows are those spike tires available on the market or is it something custom made?
  • + 1
flag kanioni (Feb 7, 2012 at 14:04)
 Custom made, not too hard tho. Many people do it around here, you can blast through icy and snowy dh tracks as if it was summer Razz
  • + 1
flag tom-cuthbert (Feb 7, 2012 at 19:04)
 You CAN buy spiked tires though.
  • + 1
flag iikka (Feb 8, 2012 at 0:49)
 Yeah, you can buy them, but I don´t know any factory made spike tires that could win DH races(ofcourse possible, but not probable). There was one from Nokian, but they stopped producing it and the ones left are now worth of gold.

I made my own spike tires few years ago to a nokian gazzaloddi G tire, but after two winter-dh race seasons, I decided to replace the side spikes with 15mm screws and left the spikes only to the center of the tire. I haven´t tested them yet, but I hope I get seconds off of my times. Downsides are that screws are heavier and you need to put protection between tire and tube makes them even heavier. Also the risk to get a flat is higher.

EDIT: for the topic, I´d like to see more this kind of racing and to get to participate in something like this!
  • + 1
flag kanioni (Feb 8, 2012 at 4:02)
 Those for sale are usually studded tires with too little bite for ice racing like that, and I've personally never seen proper spike/screw tires been made for sale Blank Stare .

I hope we'll see more of that ice cross (or whatever you'd call it) in the future!
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag kipmtb12345 (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:15)
 Looks like so much fun !!!!!!!!
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag JoroDH (Feb 7, 2012 at 11:15)
 It's Freakin' AWESOME! I want to ride on this track too!
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag swearmouth (Feb 7, 2012 at 16:02)
 Seems kind of pointless, considering that we already have 4X, which is everything this is except its less dangerous, faster, and you don't need the custom built track.
  • + 0
flag finnrambo (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:08)
 uhh we dont have 4x anymore... be sure to thank the UCI
  • + 1
flag swearmouth (Feb 7, 2012 at 20:53)
 We don't have world cup 4x, but by no means is 4X as a discipline dead.
  • + 1
flag finnrambo (Feb 8, 2012 at 0:31)
 idk what do Graves and all the other 4x guys do now? I'm going to miss seeing the pros at worldcups and now being limited to crankworx and other events
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag meafroninja (Feb 9, 2012 at 21:55)
 redbull is trying to squeeze the most money out of this track as possible.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag sonixxxtrella (Feb 7, 2012 at 21:26)
 as if dirt isn't hard enough they have to do it on ice!
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag TrekGeorge (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:32)
 Dear you to do that on slicks!
[Reply]
  • + 2
flag browerm94 (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:40)
 Song??
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag downhillscotty (Feb 7, 2012 at 11:24)
 That's pretty. Sickkk id try it. Looks slipry
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag Shredder-boy (Feb 7, 2012 at 12:17)
 They should bring 4x back but add a twist like this to make it even more interesting! Big Grin
  • + 0
flag harrisonschreiner (Feb 7, 2012 at 15:16)
 Could someone tell me what happened to 4X?
  • + 3
flag finnrambo (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:08)
 UCI killed it
  • + 0
flag harrisonschreiner (Feb 7, 2012 at 19:53)
 Why? it looked pretty cool. I feel like a lot of people have negative opinions about UCI. I'm more of a dirt biker but I've been getting a bit into MTB recently, so excuse my stupid questions.
  • + 2
flag finnrambo (Feb 8, 2012 at 0:34)
 I'm pretty sure theres an article if you use the search on the home page explaining it, and everybody hates the UCI because theyre corrupt with drug use in road cycling and create new rules for mtb screwing around with riders
  • + 1
flag Marlfox87 (Feb 8, 2012 at 3:52)
 If you ever want to see why most people hate the UCI go see the movie "The Flying Scotsman". It's about a cyclist who develops a position on his bike that allows him to practically destroy previous TT World Records. In order to stop him the UCI keeps making up rules as to why his times are invalid. Rules like... the rider's head is too far forward, or the bike is unsafe because he didn't use standard bearings when making his custom wheels etc etc.
  • + 1
flag finnrambo (Feb 8, 2012 at 10:58)
 I think the UCI's main problem is unfair judgement, moser's hour record bije with weights inside the back wheel was fine but when obree comes aling with his new position they try and stop him, or how UCI will bust erik zabel on EPO use but leave lance alone, if you want proof theyre corrupt look up contador drug use and see how he's still racing this year even though he tested positive
  • + 1
flag harrisonschreiner (Feb 8, 2012 at 11:22)
 That's really stupid to make a rule against a certain body position. It seriously doesn't make sense. That's like saying James Stewart's lap times are invalid because he invented the Bubba Scrub. That's how development of a sport works.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag tonycooper (Feb 11, 2012 at 9:22)
 crap...
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag rodriguez (Feb 8, 2012 at 12:36)
 Where do I sign-up?
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag grove09 (Feb 8, 2012 at 18:39)
 I think its pretty sick
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag avidDJ (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:09)
 not even that cool Razz my opinion
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag mountguitars (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:41)
 that looks slippery. were they using studded tires?
  • + 9
flag rand0m619 (Feb 7, 2012 at 11:06)
 Spikes dude you get a quick look at 1.40
  • + 2
flag mountguitars (Feb 7, 2012 at 15:48)
 thanks for the info. i thought studded tires are great but spiked tires are way better i guess. cheers!
  • + 2
flag rlucky82 (Feb 8, 2012 at 8:21)
 its hard to see the small stuff on cell phones :-/
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag sngltrkmnd (Feb 7, 2012 at 10:17)
 Hmm. Probably the least exciting Red Bull event I've seen. It was all holeshot. Lame in my opinion.
  • + 6
flag scott-townes (Feb 7, 2012 at 14:03)
 It wasn't a course designed for bikes to race down....
  • + 1
flag Arking (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:37)
 With respect the video shows the lead changing halfway down the track, therefore the holeshot at the start didn't decide it. To me this looked like a pretty close race! More fun than watching rider after rider hit the same track in sequence imho.
[Reply]
  • + 1
flag jakeaylward (Feb 7, 2012 at 13:30)
 looks like death
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag MedellinColombiaDH (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:02)
 f*ckin´ genius!
[Reply]
  • + 0
flag konapinky (Feb 7, 2012 at 21:52)
 yes! 4 seasons of dh!
[Reply]
  • - 1
flag surgesunday (Feb 7, 2012 at 18:10)
 F****ing RAD
[Reply]
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