Arttu Pihlainen is the new Red Bull Crashed Ice World Champion after securing his third successive victory in front of 110,000 fans in Quebec City, Canada.
The fautless Finn, victorious in Valkenburg and Moscow, owned the 540-metre long ice track, his lightning fast acceleration giving little chance to his last remaining title rival, the Canadian challenger Kyle Croxall.
Blitzing the opposition from the off, Pihlainen won each and every heat he competed in before facing Croxall and company in the four-man final.
'He's got the quickest start I've ever seen' – Kyle Croxall
Leading from the start, not even the elite of ice cross downhill could get near him as Pihlainen put on the burners to celebrate the most comprehensive of championship wins, racking up 3800 points to Croxall's 3200.
When asked how the win felt, Pihlainen answered, with characteristic understatement, 'good!'
Croxall came home in third, with compatriot Louis-Philippe Dumoulin second and Russian Andrey Lavrov fourth.
Kyle was magnanimous in defeat, comparing his own performance in the final to that of a dump truck. "If he’s a Honda Civic, then I’m a turbo-charged dump truck!"
2010 champion Martin Niefnecker secured his best result of the season, meanwhile, by finishing fifth overall, beating close rival Scott Croxall in the 'small' final.
The pair clashed controversially in Moscow, an incident that saw Niefnecker eliminated and Croxall disqualified. Scott was less magnanimous than his brother in defeat when he said of Niefnecker: "He's still ranked like 20th in the standings so he's not doing anything."
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