A dramatic skate-off saw Kyle Croxall emerge victorious from a heated battle involving the Canadian skater, his brother, Scott, and the 2011 World Champion, Arttu Pihlainen, in a fiercely-competitive four-man finale fought out in front of 80,000 fans in the Red Bull Crashed Ice season opener in Saint Paul, USA.
There were zero temperatures and snowfall in Minnesota's capital, but a huge home crowd turned out for an exciting evening of ice cross downhill racing on the 406-metre-long track as Red Bull Crashed Ice crash landed in North America.
After 64 athletes were whittled down to a final four, it was a clash between the off-balance Pihlainen and Kyle Croxall shortly before the infamous 'Wall Ride' that proved the key as the powerful Canadian skated clear of the carnage.
'The track was the hardest one so far. It was an insane race. We were really fired up for the final' - Kyle Croxall
After a short video review to ensure there was no illegal contact amid the melée, Croxall was confirmed as the winner as he ended Pihlainen's run of three successive World Championship wins.
There was no let-up in the battle for places as Pihlainen and Scott Croxall threw themselves across the finish simultaneously in the fight for second, with the Finn's skate crossing the line first.
Cameron Naasz, 22, scooped the MINI Rookie Award, meanwhile, after finishing 24th overall. The native of nearby St. Cloud was the highest ranked of the 19 American athletes who competed in Saturday's race.
Download the full bracketed results from Saint Paul here. Next stop in the 2012 World Championship is Valkenburg, in the Netherlands, on February 2-4.
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