Some sports of the world are just too wild to comprehend unless you actually see them. A cross between ice hockey, boardercross and downhill skiing, the Red Bull Crashed Ice races are more like something you might see Arnold Schwarzengegger starring in rather than a legitimate sport. This fast and fantastic sport is real, however, and it leaves spectators floored.

The Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship took place in Munich, Germany earlier this year, and the city was absolutely enthralled to see the action.

Much like a science fiction, futuristic dream sequence, ramps, jumps and other obstacles were built overtop of the citys streets. The fans lined up alongside to watch the racers compete up close.

The Olympic Park, famed for Munichs 1972 Olympic Games, was literally transformed into a winter wonderland for the race. The track was designed to be easy enough to navigate to prevent any untimely crashes, but still steep enough to propel skaters to speeds of over 50 kilometers per hour before jumping or turning.

Needless to say, the Red Bull Crashed Ice series is an intensely extreme sport. In full-on ice hockey gear, dozens of skaters immediately witnessed their hopes of winning go up in smoke as they crashed at high speeds into the courses barriers. 50,000 fans showed up to witness the entire event which was spread out over multiple races.

Januarys Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship was only the first of a two-leg event the second of which will take place on March 20, 2010 in Quebec City, Canada. For the first leg, a grand total of 64 racers showed up, representing 20 different nations. Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic and China, among other nations, were all well represented.

The course was designed to be the steepest artificial rink in the world, and with the various rollers, chicanes and jumps along the way, it was hard to pick a solid favorite for the race. However, many speculated that the Scandinavian skaters had the advantage due to their familiarity with high-speed Crashed Ice courses.

The Scandinavians couldnt pull out the victory in the first leg of the World Championship, though. In fact, Germanys Martin Niefnecker, the eventual winner, completely dominated every one of Scandinavias hopefuls. Canadas Gabriel Andre finished second and Switzerlands Martin Muller came in third place.

Other notable finishes include Michael Urban (fourth), Lari Joutsenlahti (fifth), Lukas Kolc (sixth), Kilian Braun (seventh), Paavo Klintrup (eighth), Arttu Pihlainen (ninth), and Andreas Ruegge (eleventh).

The Canadian track is set to be 575 meters in length, with even more downhill action and more daring twists, turns and jumps. Quebec Citys Cote de Montagne will undergo a complete transformation to get ready for the race, and athletes representing 8 countries will suit up to take the ice.