Daredevil Marquez races up downhill slope

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (Reuters) - Spanish MotoGP champion Marc Marquez opted for an alternative method to tackle one of the toughest Alpine ski courses in Europe -- charging up it on his Honda bike. The 23-year-old triple world champion put snow spikes on his wheels as he rode up Austria's Hahnenkamm mountain in the Kitzbuehel Alps, which skiers normally race down at speeds of up to 110 km per hour. "It was really difficult to keep the bike under control, but I’m young and it’s good fun to try some crazy things," Marquez was quoted as saying by Red Bull, who helped put on the stunt. Marquez managed to reach a high enough speed to perform some entertaining front tyre up wheelies for the crowd, in the video released on Thursday. The Spaniard follows in the tyre-tracks of Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who drove his Formula One car on the same section of slope last year. The Kitzbuehel slope is hosting an FIS Alpine Ski World Cup meet this week which ends on Sunday with the men's slalom. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in LONDON; Editing by Toby Davis)