A meeting with Sébastien Rastegar, downhill racer and also qualified for 2017 Redbull Crashed Ice

Interview

Hello Sébastian, how did you get to skate?

We tried a lot of different sports in elementary school. Among them was skating. Together with some friends we decided to buy skates (quads) and then it got an extracurricular activity.

What are your favorite disciplines?

These days I only do downhill. I sometimes visit skate parks to amuse myself and keep my physical shape, but it’s not really working that way – I should do it more often 🙂

How did you get to downhill?

I discovered the downhill by chance. I saw two crazy sprinters driving down backwards a short-track in a very deep position. I quickly approached the two Parisians, and as I was able to slide, I was even allowed to take part in beginner classes in Paris. After that I went to work for two years in Germany. Only on my return in 2013, I participated in downhill competitions. The members of the Estrem Dounill helped me to improve and taught me new skills.

Are you practicing any other sports?

I did boxing for two years, although I really enjoyed it, I had to stop due to a lack of time. After that I tried climbing. Next to my home there is an indoor climbing arena with long opening times. I am absolutely thrilled about it!

What’s the profit of these sports?

While boxing, I learned a lot of endurance and explosiveness. In 2014, my performance was at its peak. 2014 was also the year when I was most active in boxing. The climbing helped me for balance and body feeling. However, I lost all endurance and explosiveness.

Would you like to try other skate sports?

I have been helping the Menil’descente organization for three years. This is a hybrid event of skatecross and downhill. It takes place in the middle of Paris in the “Rue de Ménilmontant” (about 8% inclination). I would really like to try skatecross due to this event, but I lack a dimension of speed.

The Redbull Crashed Ice: How did this happen?

It is the result of a great accident. I already wanted to participate in this event for a long time and I had talked with several participants (on the bob track at the Beton On Fire).
They are some guys that are good in both sports and more and more athletes are open for everything. So I went to Austria and ignored the wildcards for Marseille, which were only available for the two best Frenchmen.

Tell us about the qualifications…

We arrived two days before the start, as the organizer informed us that the course was open for training. We learnt to skate the lowest part very fast, which was characterized by many jumps and a very fast chicane. The most difficult thing for us is the feeling on the ice. The upper part consisted of many narrow corners, in which the ice was removed by the many brakes and thus gave an uneven ice surface. I spent many hours practicing and crashed a lot of times. Even when I tried the braking method of the others (contrary to the corner direction), I was unfortunately still slower than my competitors.

On the third day, just before the qualifying race, a blade sharpener looked at my blades and asked me if I really wanted to skate the race with these blades. He diagnosed some defects and deformations of the blades, not mentioning that they were incredibly edgeless and damaged. For the races, he only managed to sharpen the blades. Therefore my problems in the first segment had also material reasons…

The next step was to see where I would get with the sharpened blades compared to the others. After the qualification I was ranked 56 out of 160 participants. Pascal Briand, who was not used to the jumps, was 101th. The 64 best times qualified for the final in Marseille. At first I was not aware of this, as it was not my primary goal.
The finals were really tough for me. I could not follow them from the very beginning, but then I was able to pass the guy in third position, because he crashed right before the chicane. But then I crashed myself in the big corner. It was the old habit of skating to push the body weight on the inner foot in the corner. This resulted in a beautiful, self-inflicted slide across the ice :). Flavien crashed just before the finish line and was thus 4. Overall you have to say that we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

What are you working?

I work independently as a freelancer in the field of computer science. That’s why I can do my own time schedule and go to the events that interest me.

How does a normal week look like for you?

A full-time job, sports (climbing, skate park and ice skating), tinkering, a bit of mechanics and mates.

Is there an athlete who inspires you?

No one particular, but I use every opportunity to observe those who are better than me, and learn from them in every race and training.

What future goals have you set for yourself?

I would like to continue to have fun and improve without having to force myself to do something. I’ve tried to work on my strength and endurance in the gym, but running on a treadmill, lifting up iron and pedaling on a static bike was so boring. I would definitely like to advance in the Crashed Ice and I will have to find a playful solution for this.

Stage free: what would you like to talk about?

We need financial help for our activities: the trips, the competitions mostly take place abroad (for bobsleighing and Crashed Ice), as well as the material. That adds up. The shop Marseillais Roller’n co provided me equipment for Marseille, which was a big help. Since I do not have much experience, I still have to test a lot of material before I feel safe on the ice. So far I have mounted a blade on my normal skating shoe, but who knows if I might not switch to a real ice shoe?

Video: Downhill on the bob track in Sigulda (Latvia)

Wanted poster

Name: Rastegar
First name: Sébastien
Date of birth: 08.07.1985
Born in: Téhéran, Iran
Height: 178cm
Weight: 68kg
Country: France
City: Villejuif (94)
First steps on skates: in elementary school
Age group: Senior men
Studies: Master of Information Technology (Epitech)
Strength: silly
Improvable: physical endurance
Other sports: climbing, boxing, and snowboarding
Last seen movie: ?
Favorite music: “September” Earth wind & fire
Video game: Assetto Corsa
Reading: nothing
What I like: yes
What I do not like: no
Qualities: motivation
Club/ Team: Estrem dounill
Best memory: too much competition
Worst memory: not telling
Languages: English, Italian and German (Intermediate)
Alcohol or fruit juice: alcohol
Beach or mountains: mountains
Morning or evening: evening
Cheese or dessert: cheese
Rap, Metal or Techno: All three, my cap, but only good
Football or rugby: none
Successes: French champion 2014 in Downhill, regularly on the podium of the World Cup Beton On Fire

Useful links

Take a look at our website of the Redbull Crashed Ice 2017 in Marseille