What Exactly Is This Bizarre-Looking Contraption Outside Stormont?

As you may have noticed, the Lovin Dublin team have relocated to Belfast for the week, checking out the sights, sounds, steaks, burgers and cocktails of the Northern capital. Obviously, discovering a new city is not something to be undertaken alone... so we put out a call for help.

Our Belfast crew are on the Black Cab Tour this morning, what else should they do today? Any recommendations? pic.twitter.com/iozGFQlyc0

— Lovin Dublin (@LovinDublin) February 18, 2015

In response, we got a fairly interesting suggestion...

@LovinDublin Hey guys! You should definitely head to Stormont and come check out the #Crashedice track pic.twitter.com/vs692jclIp

— Red Bull Ireland (@redbullIRE) February 18, 2015

A long stretch of downhill ice, almost half a kilometre long, built in front of the parliamentary buildings and designed to be hurtled down by dudes on skates at speeds of almost 65km/hr?

Yeah, we'll check that out.

While we were there, not only did we get some amazing action shots of the skaters in action – but we also caught up with sports director Christian Papillon, who explained how exactly this madcap tournament works, and what compels someone to risk life and limb on such a terrifying-looking contraption.

Red Bull Crashed Ice takes place this Friday and Saturday at Stormont Estate, Belfast – just a 90-minute drive drom Dublin – and a small number of tickets are still available at redbull.ie/crashedice. You'll also be able to watch the event live on that link, or keep up via the #CrashedIce hashtag.

Having seen the lads in action up close, we'll certainly be taking them up on that offer...