Four skaters, all wearing hockey gear, brace themselves in their starting gates on the lip of a 22-meter drop atop a long course covered entirely in a layer of ice about 20 cm thick.

The race announcer gives them a five-second warning, enough time to contemplate hurling themselves forward and downward but not enough time to rethink that decision.

At the horn, they rush down the ramp in a race where speeds can reach up to 80 kph and everyone will go airborne at some point.