Now in its fourth year, Quebec City's Crashed Ice Event takes over Old Quebec on January 24 in 2009. More than 85,000 adrenaline junkies show up to watch the downhill skate race that makes the Olympic Luge event look like child's play.
The fastest sport on skates combines hockey with downhill skiing, featuring amateur and semi-pro hockey players from across the globe. Instead of a regular rink, racers storm down a 600 - yard ice track through the city complete with hairpin turns, jumps, banked corners, and vertical drops. First one of the 100 men and 20 women to reach the bottom alive wins.
The sport first appeared in Stockholm, Sweden in 2000, quickly followed by other European cities before hitting Duluth, Minnesota, in 2003. Since Quebec produces some of the world's best hockey players, it's only natural that the sport remain a staple of Quebec City events.