St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman skated a leg of the Red Bull Crashed Ice course on Wednesday morning without his son, Aidan, who broke his ankle on Monday attempting to catch a bus.

“He crashed on some ice on his way home from work, so no Crashed Ice course for Aidan,” said Coleman, in a statement.

The mayor was to be joined instead by a handful of fellow skating enthusiasts — St. Paul City Council Member Chris Tolbert; Office of Financial Services Director Todd Hurley; state Rep. Leon Lillie, DFL-North St. Paul; and Minnesota Office of Early Learning Director Melvin Carter, a former Ward 1 city council member.

The group took to the course by the Cathedral of St. Paul off John Ireland Boulevard between 10 and 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The mayor said he was “thrilled” that Red Bull Crashed Ice has chosen to return to St. Paul for the fourth consecutive year. The competition pits local and international skaters against each other in timed trials down an icy course lined with deep drops and hairpin turns.

New to St. Paul this year, the course will host a women’s race featuring 16 female athletes during Saturday night’s finals. Women have sometimes participated alongside men in the ice cross time trials, and races exclusively for women have been held before in Quebec City and the Netherlands.

On Sunday, St. Cloud resident Cameron Naasz took first place in a downhill skating event at the Afton Alps ski hills. Held a week before the four ice cross championships, the four new Red Bull Riders Cup races allow athletes to earn points toward their overall score in the traveling competition.

Naasz, the son of a skate shop owner who grew up playing hockey in Lakeville, became the first American to win a Crashed Ice event when he completed the course in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2013.

This year, the championship races will be held in St. Paul, Helsinki, Finland, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Edmonton, Canada. The remaining Rider’s Cup races will be held in Austria, Finland and Canada.

Many restaurants, bars and hotels are providing patrons with free shuttles to the event. Visit St. Paul, the city’s official visitor’s bureau, has listed locations offering shuttle rides at tinyurl.com/RedBullshuttles.

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.

 

RED BULL CRASHED ICE

WHAT IS IT?

In heats of four, skaters from around the world compete to get to the bottom of a lengthy obstacle course by the Cathedral of St. Paul marked by deep drops and hairpin turns. Ice cross downhill combines disciplines of ice-hockey, boarder cross and downhill skiing. And yes, it’s cold and scary.

WHEN IS IT?

Competition takes place from 4 p.m. Thursday through 9 p.m. Saturday. The championships take place at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

WILL IT BE CROWDED?

Yes. For the Saturday finals, crowd estimates have exceeded 100,000 gawkers in the past three years.

HOW TOUGH IS IT?

The track starts 48 feet off the ground and spans 1,410 feet in length, dropping off sharply from Cathedral Hill. Athletes will face sharp turns, “big-air jumps, step-ups, drop-offs, obstacles and gaps,” according to Red Bull. Top skating speeds can exceed 40 miles per hour.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The competition is free and open to the public.

WHERE SHOULD I STAND?

None of the viewing areas encompass the entire track, but there will be three large screens projecting the races from multiple angles.

IS IT TELEVISED?

The Red Bull Crashed Ice competition in St. Paul will be recorded and air on FOX at 3 p.m. on Sunday. It will re-air on Monday on FOX Sports 1 at 6:30 p.m. The rest of the series will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

IS THERE PARKING?

Not on site. There will be free parking available at the State Capitol parking lots J and H, as well as the Centennial Parking lot. St. Paul College, the Minnesota History Center and Sears will offer parking for $15 to $20.

IS THERE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION?

City buses and light rail will be running, with detours for portions of the bus routes. Metro Transit is offering passes for free rides on Saturday at http://win.gs/FreeMetro.

WILL THERE BE SHUTTLES?

Visit St. Paul has listed free shuttles online at tinyurl.com/RedBullshuttles.

WHAT’S THE SCHEDULE?

THURSDAY:

— From 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, 100 U.S. athletes will take part in elimination runs, and 32 will advance to meet international competitors.

FRIDAY:

— From noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, 100 international athletes will be winnowed down to 64. The top 32 international skaters are guaranteed to move on to Saturday’s finals, and the next 32 will face the Americans in an elimination round.

— From 3 to 4 p.m., the 64 U.S. and international athletes will face off in an elimination round.

— From 6 to 8:30 p.m., teams of athletes will compete for additional points to boost their collective rankings.

— From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., the Turf Club at 1601 University Ave. West will host the official Red Bull Crashed Ice Welcome Party.

SATURDAY:

— Gates open to the general public at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

— The St. Paul finals will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

— A block party will take place along West Seventh Street, south of the Cathedral grounds, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

ON THE WEB

Official event site: redbullcrashedice.com

Traffic updates and visitor information: stpaul.gov/crashedice.

Twitter: @redbullmsp @crashedice

Red Bull Crashed Ice video from the Riders Cup event at the Afton Alps on Jan. 18: Tinyurl.com/RedBullRidersPOV

Copyright 2015 Pioneer Press.