American Cameron Naasz closes on Riders Cup leader Scott Croxall

American Cameron Naasz cut championship leader Scott Croxall’s lead atop the Ice Cross Downhill World Championship standings with a sixth place finish at the final Riders Cup race on Sunday, setting up title showdown at final Red Bull Crashed Ice race of the season in Saint Paul next week.

Austria’s Marco Dallago won the final Riders Cup race of the 2015/16 season on Sunday in Mont Du Lac, Wisconsin in style while American Cameron Naasz narrowed the gap to overall Ice Cross Downhill World Championship leader Scott Croxall of Canada by taking a solid sixth place. That narrowed Croxall’s lead by 15 points and set the stage for a climactic battle at the season finale with a Red Bull Crashed Ice race in Saint Paul on Feb. 26-27. Canada’s Dean Moriarity was crowned this season’s Riders Cup champion with two wins and a second place finish even though he finished only 14th on Sunday at the race at the northern tip of Wisconsin near Superior.

Americans Dan Witty and Tyler Witty took second and third place, respectively, while Finland’s Miikka Jouhkimainen took fourth place. Myriam Trepanier of Canada won the women’s race with compatriots Elaine Topolnisky taking second and Jacqueline Legere finishing third. The race was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed until Sunday morning due to weather conditions.

Naasz, who is attempting to become the first American champion in the world’s fastest sport on skates, was in the lead in his semi-final heat but crashed once again and was overtaken by Dallago. It was the fourth straight race that Naasz, who had been unbeatable at Red Bull Crashed Ice races in Quebec City and Munich with two early-season victories, had crashed while leading his heat. He nevertheless finished sixth overall, one position ahead of Croxall. Naasz now has 2,885 world championship points and trails Croxall (2,950 points) by 65 points with 1,000 points up for grabs for the winner of the season finale in Saint Paul. To win the title, Naasz needs to finish third or higher and needs to be ahead of Croxall. For Croxall to win, he needs to finish ahead of Naasz or needs Naasz to finish fourth or lower.

It promises to be a thrilling showdown with defending world champion Croxall, who beat Naasz to take first place in the last Red Bull Crashed Ice race in Jyväskylä-Laajis, Finland and also got a pair of third place finishes at Riders Cup races in Bathurst and Sherbrooke, determined to become the first racer to win back-to-back championships.

The Mont Du Lac track featured a steep 65-meter vertical drop over 440 meters with eight rollers, two table-tops, three banked turns and a grueling 50-meter uphill skate. It also had a corner step down, a step up hip feature that was never been used before.

Results men: 1. Marco Dallago (AUT), 2. Dan Witty (USA), 3. Tyler Witty (USA), 4. Miikka Jouhkimainen (FIN), 5. Tristan Dugerdil (FRA), 6. Cameron Naasz (USA), 7, Scott Croxall (CAN), 8. Luca Dallago (AUT), 9. Paavo Klintrup (FIN), 10. Reed Whiting (USA).

Results women: 1. Myriam Trepanier (CAN), 2. Elaine Topolnisky (CAN), 3. Jacqueline Legere (CAN), 4. Anais Morand (SUI)

Dean Moriarity of Canada competes during the ATSX Rider's Cup finals at the ninth stage of the ATSX Ice Cross Downhill World Championship at Mont Du Lac Recreation Area - Superior, Wisconsin, United States on February 21, 2016. // P-20160222-00016 // Usage for editorial use only // Please go to www.redbullcontentpool.com for further information. //

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Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.