The most successful British alpine skier of all time and our first Olympic medal winner in downhill skiing, Alain Baxter, retired from competitive ski racing six years ago but has now found a new calling – competing in downhill ice skating or ‘ice cross’.
This fastest sport on skates is a combination of downhill racing and ice skating on a high speed course and Alain made a strong debut performance in Belfast last February. We caught up with Baxter during the first stage of the 2015-16 Ice Cross Downhill World Championships in Québec City at the end of last year.
How did your return to winter sports come about ?
It just came out of the blue, someone in the UK asked my ex-manager if they knew anyone who would be a possibility to race in the Crashed Ice and my name came up. I had originally been asked to get involved more in a coaching role but then after I did the training I won all my heats. So that was that, I was part of the team! Adrenaline start kicking it again, it was amazing!”
Are there similarities between downhill ice skating and skiing?
The transition in to ice skating was okay for me. There are two good combinations for downhill ice skating: skiing for the jumps, turns and downhill and having ice skating ability. One more thing that would have been helpful would be freestyle ability.
What’s your workout routine?
I train every day and although I’d like to have a similar routine to training during my skiing career, now I’ve three children and a dog ! From quite an early age I already knew how to train for strength and coordination and with 30 years of training behind me it works! I think all sports these days are becoming more and more professional. We reach a physical stage where nutrition, coordination, everything is combined as a big package to generate success.
What’s it like being on the track during the race?
You’re trying to remember that you are going to hit 60km/h but you also know the move you have to make whenever its coming. The race is more like a ski downhill course than slalom as there are more elements in there like jumps and bump corners.
What do you think of the venue in Quebec ?
It’s a lovely venue, full of history. It’s like in Belfast, the track going through the Parliament building and the arches – really cool. Québec is the home of Crashed Ice as well, it’s a great experience to ride here. The track itself is very cool, but after what happened here I wouldn’t say it was easy (ITS: Baxter smashed during the qualification runs and suffered three broken ribs and a bruised lung)
How’s Ice Cross doing in Europe?
It’s growing. There are a lot of fast guys in Europe : German, Swiss, Czech, Sweden, Finnish.There were 70 000 people supporting the event in Belfast last year.
