Ice speedway: the last gladiators of the frozen steppe

On a remote Siberian lake, riders race motorbikes armed with steel spikes at 120 km/h in the Ice Speedway championships. But as winters become warmer and ice thinner, a sport built on frozen ground is fighting for survival. At dawn, the average temperature is –32°C and the lake surface is solid ice.

Ice speedway: a sport carved from ice and danger

Ice speedway is a high risk motorsport conducted on oval tracks cut into frozen lakes. Competitors ride purpose built motorbikes fitted with tyres studded by spikes up to 3 cm long, which provide traction by biting into the ice. Riders adopt extreme lean angles through corners, often allowing handlebars to skim the surface while the bikes drift and eject fragments of ice.

Pit operations combine rapid mechanical work with cold- weather improvisations: riders warm their hands over portable stoves while mechanics in insulated gear remove frozen bolts and adjust setups. The air is dominated by the smell of burnt petrol, pine smoke and cold metal. Irina Volkova, a tyre engineer known locally as “The Spike Whisperer” customises spike patterns and interprets wear to inform setup and rider strategy.

A race that feels like a storm

Engines ignite and the frozen lake becomes the track, surrounded by villagers in furs who from an informal ring with no barriers or grandstands- only ice, snow and loud machinery. At the drop of the flag, the first corner devolves into controlled mayhem: ice shards fly, spiked tyres bite the surface and drift at extreme angles. The racing requires a balanced level of brute force and precise bike control. As the athletes complete the race, the results show Misha takes first place while Sergei finishes third. Spectators respond with the intensity of a communal celebration, underscoring the event’s local significance.

Beneath this generational spectacle lies a growing dread.

The ice is thinner than it used to be. Winters are shorter. Some lakes that froze solid for centuries now form unreliable crusts that crack under the weight of bikes and spectators.

A culture at risk of melting away

Ice speedway is more than a sport here. It is a ritual, a gathering point, a shared identity forged in cold and danger. Families pass down bikes like heirlooms. Mechanics teach their children how to sharpen spikes before they teach them how to read.

Featured image via the Canary