What It’s Like to Train With Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, According to Red Bull Crashed Ice Competitors

Naasz is heading into the 2017/2018 championships season (his seventh) at the top of the ranks. If he wins the Ice Cross Downhill World Championships this year, he’ll be the first man to win three in a row. This year, he knows exactly how to handle the inevitable hype that comes with being top dog.

“I feel the most pressure a month or two before the season starts, but I find that the best way to alleviate that pressure is to prepare even more,” Naasz says. “So then, when I get to that race and start feeling a little nervous, I tell myself that I’m well-prepared and have worked harder than anyone else in the off-season. That eases my mind a little bit.”

Trunzo finished up last season as the No.2-ranked women’s competitor overall, just behind Canada’s Jacqueline Legere. This year, she’s shooting to clinch the No.1 spot.

“I’m going into it confident that I’ve made it to the finals,” Trunzo says. “I’ve beaten [Legere] before, and she’s the best in the sport. So I know that I can beat her again, but have to be more consistent.”

Both athletes turn to CrossFit for off-season conditioning to perform their best. “My training used to be there, but not as consistent,” Trunzo says. “This year, I’ve amped it up even more. I go to the skate park at least twice a week, hit the skating treadmill at least once a week, and go to a CrossFit gym six times a week with trainers who really know what they’re doing.”

Naasz has also amped up his training with CrossFit, and says he makes adjustments each season to keep his fitness level on point.

“Lately, I’ve been trying to pull from different aspects of fitness the way CrossFit athletes do,” Naasz says. “They don’t just have a weightlifting coach; there’s an Olympic lifting coach, someone for endurance, someone for nutrition. I’ve been learning from the CrossFit community how to pick and choose what’s best for me, and what will help me become the most well-rounded athlete.”

Naasz and Trunzo agree that Leblanc-Bazinet has a lot more to offer than just workout advice. Her strongest subject? Mental preparation and strategy.

“[In Crashed Ice] you have to think on the fly,” Naasz says. “There’s a lot you can be prepared for, but there are things you can’t foresee, like ice conditions. I can predict a little bit: If it’s a cold night, I know the ice will get more chewed up, and I know the areas to avoid vs. where the track will be faster just from experience. But there are also things you can’t control, like equipment malfunctions. ‘What if I broke a skate, my helmet broke, or my goggles fogged up?’ I think that’s something I can take away from Camille—if something bad happens, think positively, figure out how to fix it, get it done, and move on.”

Trunzo agrees that Leblanc-Bazinet’s advice on mental training is crucial.

“A big thing I took from her was the mental aspect, how she trains for mental toughness, and the things that she envisions,” Trunzo says. “She doesn’t always envision everything going right, because, at the end of the day, on most competition days nothing seems to go right. So she always envisions things going wrong and figures out how she can adjust when things don’t go her way.”

No matter the professional sport, a huge aspect of performing well is keeping your cool in front of the crowd—and for both athletes, Minnesota is their home turf. At past Crashed Ice events in St. Paul, the crowd has hit as many as 100,000. (Apparently they get used to it.)

“There’s a lot of hype, especially because I know that a lot of that crowd is cheering for me because I’m from Minnesota or the U.S.,” Trunzo says. “Once you hit the track it seems crazy, but at the same time you go in focused—I don’t even hear the crowd half the time. I just focus on getting down to the end in first place…There’s so much stuff going on that you don’t even see the people hanging over the walls and yelling until you’re at the bottom and looking around.”

For Naasz, qualifying at the top, combined with skating in front of the hometown crowd, makes for a lot of hype.

“The past few years I’ve qualified No.1, so that means I’m in the first seed of the night and have fresh ice,” Naasz says. “The fans are excited, and they’ll always announce that I’m the hometown guy, then everybody erupts, and that really fuels you. It gives me a lot of energy, and it’s all positive, too, because I know that everyone’s rooting for me and hoping for the best.”

Since its start in the U.S. in 2012, Crashed Ice has grown significantly—especially in regard to the women’s competition. When Trunzo got her start in the sport, she competed against the guys until the women’s division picked up speed. Now, the girls and boys have the same number of championship races.

“The women’s side of the sport has really taken off,” she says. “Since the beginning, the men always had four races, the full [Red Bull Crashed Ice] tour. But for women, these past two seasons are the first years where there’s a competition in all four spots where the men compete…It’s awesome to see the progression there, and to see the level rise in the women’s competition.”

Naasz has seen growth in both the size of the sport and the competition level of the American teams.

“In 2012, we were all horrible,” he says. “It was our first time competing, and we sucked. We got beat by everyone, but had the coolest gear. Then, in 2013, I had my breakout season and took third overall. For a few years it was just me, but now we’ve developed a good group of U.S. athletes who are taking the sport more seriously on both the men’s and women’s side. We’re even trying to develop more junior athletes, so it’s great to see that happening in the U.S.”

To be clear: This sport is a free-for-all race on a downhill track of solid ice. It gets competitive. Even so, the athletes interact like friends who share an absurd hobby. The camaraderie is akin to that of elite CrossFit athletes, who cultivate a supportive atmosphere despite the competitive atmosphere.

“One of my favorite parts about this sport is that the camaraderie between the athletes is unlike any other sport,” Naasz says. “We’re already good friends, especially the North American athletes. The Canadians and the rest of the USA team, we really get along. The guys from Canada will even stay at my house during the event, and even in the locker room, it’s all positive and we’re all rooting for each other. If I had an equipment issue and another athlete had a spare, they’d give it to me. It’s all good vibes there. Once we’re on the track, all of the guys are very competitive…but when it’s all said and done, we’re all still friends.”

Both athletes are from Minnesota, and both have their sights set on the world championship this year, so the St. Paul event—the second of the nine-race championships—holds a special significance.

“My friends and family are all here or have flown in to see me, and even the people I don’t know in the stands who support me hold a lot of significance,” Trunzo says. “I’m trying to focus on winning and becoming the first women’s world champion from the U.S. I was so close the last few seasons, so I’d love to go out there and prove something in that regard. Then, hopefully, I have a few more years of competing.”

Naasz is squarely focused on his third title—but even so, “there’s always more to be done”.

“I’d love to get a three-peat this year and win my third championship, but my goal is always to stay consistent,” he says. “Let’s say I have a really good race and win in St. Paul, but have a few bad races and have to fight back after making bad decisions on those courses. Then, I’m not happy at the end of the day. My goal is to be as consistent as possible, win every heat, and stay mentally focused. If I can do that, that’s what makes me most happy at the end of the day—and that’s ultimately what’ll lead to another world championship.”