Daredevil skiers in Latvia towed by motorbikes over snow, ice and dirt

The 2018 Red Bull Twitch ‘n’ Ride event in Latvia served up another madcap day of competition with fearless motocross riders towing daredevil skiers around the gruelling Kegums winter course.

Janis Tilaks/Reinis Tilaks (MTK), Raivis Eikmanis/Reinis Palkavnieks (LTK), Karlis Sabulis/Uldis Spulle (MMK) and Raivis Eikmanis/Arvis Dunkulis (LMK) were the respective winners in each category with over 100 teams competing.

Here is all you need to know:

– Skijoring has traditionally been a skier towed along by a horse or dogs, however Red Bull Twitch ‘n’ Ride in Latvia uses motocross bikes instead.

– The motocross rider tows a skier at speeds up to 40mph over snow, ice and dirt along with a succession of hair-raising kicker jumps.

– Two races of 10 minutes and two laps each, which amounts to about 17 minutes of physical hell.

– Roughly 70% of the work is down to the skier who ensures the rope is at the proper tension and the right line is taken around the corners.

– Extremely rare for one of each team not to fall at least once during a race.