San Jose, CA. september 7-10, 2006.
www.dewactionsportstour.com: As the sun went down and the wind whipped up outside the HP Pavilion on Friday night, the crowd got restless, primed for an action-packed BMX Dirt Final and a killer concert from Dilated Peoples and The Roots. The twelve riders fighting for the first place cash were happy to do their part to keep the spectators satisfied, throwing everything they had at the four jumps on the course.
Hometown favorite Ryan Nyquist had the crowd support, but he ended up pulling the eject button over set three, ditching his bike and running out from ten feet up on an already torn ligament in his knee. He still opted to take his second run, but missed the variation on his first 360 and cruised through the rest of the sets, pointing at the crowd during a 360 over the final set. He’ll still have another chance to do it for his homies this weekend in the Park competition, though.
Anthony Napolitan provided another small surprise; after placing consistently high this year, he ran into some trouble in San Jose and found himself in ninth place. Unfortunately, that means that the current points lead slipped out of his hands for the first time this year, and he’ll go into the final round in Orlando trailing Luke Parslow by twelve points.
Speaking of “Second Place Parslow”, his amazing second run (flip turndown, tailwhip, frontflip, and flip tailwhip) pushed him into second place once again. A lot of shuffling went down on the leader board after everyone’s second runs; Parslow moved Corey Bohan out of second, who had dropped stylish 360 variations and a barspin to tailwhip to push Dave Dillewaard out after his second run. Dillewaard turned in his best runs in a long time, starting with a barspin down the drop-in. Tricks like a perfect 360 whip to barspin, no-hander to turndown, whip to x-up, double whip, and no-hander to turndown earned him the same high score in both runs, even though he was eventually pushed to fourth.
The big story was Ryan Guettler, however. He was able to capitalize on his first place qualifying position, finally holding it together to post a comfortable lead after run one. He landed a double whip over the first hip, a gutsy 720 over the second hip, a front flip over the third set, and another clean double whip over the last. The smile on his face said it all, as he took his first Dew Tour victory of ’06 and returned to the podium spot he was so accustomed to last year. We’ll have to see if he can carry that momentum into tomorrow’s Park Prelims.
We couldn’t ask for a tighter race going into next month’s Playstation® Pro. You can bet Parslow and Napolitan will take the next month very seriously, making sure they arrive in Orlando armed with tricks they can pull in their sleep. Who will score the Dew Cup and a cool $75,000 bonus? Stay tuned.
Steve Lemig, www.lat34.com: Apparently the Americans forgot to show up to BMX Dirt Finals at the Toyota Challenge in San Jose. Aussies took 6 of the top 10 positions in Friday's Finals. And not just any 6 spots – the top 6 spots. Only Chris Doyle was able to come close to defeating any of the boys from Down Under with a 7th place finish. That left Ryan Guettler, Luke Parslow and Corey Bohan standing triumphantly on the podium when the smoke settled.
Ryan Guettler threw down a dominating performance Friday night at the Dirt Finals with an unbelievable run. He dropped in from the tower with a quick x-up followed by a double tailwhip on the first hip, a super smooth 720, a perfect front flip, and another double tailwhip on the final set. His score: a big 93.25. Guettler’s been having a rollercoaster season with finishes all over the place. His 1st place finish boosts him up to 4th overall in the 2006 Dew Tour points standings making him a contender for one of the top 3 positions of the season title.
Luke Parslow, who’s been amazingly consistent this year with 2nd and 3rd place finishes at every Dew Tour stop, came in 2nd again. He put the smack down with a backflip turndown, a tailwhip, a beautiful front flip, followed by a stunning backflip tailwhip. As a result, Parslow has now taken the lead in the overall points standing and with any luck (combined with his smooth Aussie style and skill) he’ll remain in 1st place and clinch the Dew Tour season title.
Corey Bohan, who is 5th overall in this year’s Dew Tour, rose to the occasion and nailed his run to take third. He remains in 5th, but has shown everyone that he’s not ending his season without a fight. Dave Dillewaard, yet another Aussie, kicked out two of his best runs of the season to clinch 4th place. Both of his runs scored an 89.5, the second of which drew huge applause from the other riders and the crowd.
Cameron White, the winner of BMX Dirt in Portland, took home 5th place, despite landing another triple tailwhip in competition. He set his foot down on the landing which scored him a little lower than he could have. If he hadn’t put that foot down, it’s possible he would have upset Bohan's or Parslow's stellar runs.
Finally, have you noticed that someone’s name hasn’t been mentioned in the top 8 positions? That’s because Anthony Napolitan got an 84.5 on his first run and didn’t even finish his second run after losing speed. But, never fear. With all the points Napolitan has accumulated this year he’s still in 2nd in the overall points standings. So you can be sure he’ll come to Orlando ready to take back what’s been his all season.
Pete, www.harobikes.com: The dirt finals were as exciting as I expected them to be. The weather was a bit colder than most expected I'm sure. That didn't seem to slow the riders down though. With a series title on the line after this event in Florida next month, it was critical for anyone close in the points race to do well in San Jose. Ryan Nyquist was riding well in prelims but crashed a couple of times during his final runs irritating a torn ACL he's been nursing, causing him to sit back and let this event slide. Luke Parslow was on fire though and threw out everything he had. In the end it was up to the judges to decide who won and Ryan Guettler came out with the win bumping Luke into second place at the fourth stop of the Dew Series. Luke's been really consistent this year and has managed to put himself in the points lead going into the fifth and final round of the Dew Tour in Orlando, Florida next month. Nyquist is in third, still holding down a solid position. Should be interesting! Keep checking back and we'll let you know how things turn out.
1st Guettler, Ryan 93.25
2nd Parslow, Luke 91.75
3rd Bohan, Corey 90.50
4th Dillewaard, Dave 89.50
5th White, Cameron 88.50
6th Mackay, Colin 88.50
7th Doyle, Chris 87.75
8th Foster, James 85.50
9th Napolitan, Anthony 84.50
10th Murray, Stephen 84.25
11th Darden, Rob 84.25
12th Nyquist, Ryan 83.75
www.dewactionsportstour.com: Saturday’s BMX Park Prelims at the Toyota Challenge in San Jose were no ordinary Prelims. In fact, if this is the way Prelims are going to be, the Dew Tour organizers may as well just skip to the Finals. Every rider came out swinging like it was their last contest ever. At the end of it all 8 of the 12 finalists had tying scores.
34 riders duked it out for 2 1/2 hours at the HP Pavilion indoor Park course. Scotty Cranmer, Daniel Dhers and Ryan Nyquist were the top three finalists to move on to Sunday’s Finals. Cranmer threw down two unbelievable runs that would have won just about any Finals contest on the planet. He pulled a front flip up the giant step-up on the left side of the course, turned around and did a big tail whip back down it. His second run was all about double whips. He pulled more than half a dozen variations including a double whip to tail tap on the mini ramp, over the table top, and up the giant step-up. Daniel Dhers kicked it into high gear with two stunning runs. No-foot tailwhips over the table top, no-hand flairs on the quarter pipes – you name it, Dhers did it – enough for him to beat out hometown favorite Ryan Nyquist. Nyquist had a rough time with BMX Dirt Finals Friday night, but was able to redeem himself in Park Prelims with a 3rd place finish. Austin Coleman was on fire putting together the performance of his life. The other riders looked on in awe as Coleman ripped up the course going bigger than most anyone else. The ear-to-ear smile on Coleman’s face said it all after he pulled off a huge no-handed flair on the quarter pipe, the first he’s ever attempted in competition. Could his new music choice of Prince have something to do with it? We’ll let you decide. Steven McCann, Alistair Whitton, Gary Young, Garret Reynolds, Allan Cooke, Colin Mackay, Morgan Wade and Dave Dillewaard all made it into Sunday’s Park Finals. Ryan Guettler put out two ambitious runs that ultimately weren’t enough to get him into the Finals. But, considering he won BMX Dirt Friday he should be feeling pretty good about himself. Guettler also failed to reach Park Finals at the last stop of the Dew Tour in Portland. Chad Kagy had a pretty powerful first run that judges scored low, and followed it with a mediocre second run that kept him out of the Finals. While he didn’t make it to Finals, Marcus Tooker threw out one of the best tricks of the Prelims that had everyone pulling out their hair. He sped up to the tabletop in the center of the course and launched a huge 360 whip for the textbooks and still had enough time to add a barspin at the end. If this is the kind of performance these guys are throwing down in Prelims, the fireworks are sure to go off at Sunday’s Finals. Tune back in tomorrow.
www.ridebmx.com: Park Prelims went down today with 34 riders competing for a spot in the finals. Scotty Cranmer qualified first with big tricks like a double-tailwhip tailtap, a frontflip, and a 360 double-tailwhip up the big step-up. Daniel Dhers came in a point lower with a no-handed flair, double-whips, a no-footed can-can tailwhip, and a superman seatgrab-to-tailwhip. Qualifying third was Ryan Nyquist with his usual barrage of barspin/truck/rocket/360 variations as well as an alley-oop 360 out of the curved wall, and fourth went to Austin Coleman who lit up the course with a one-handed tailwhip, a 360 downside-whip, and a big flair.
FINALS
Steve Lemig, www.lat34.com: After Saturday’s intense BMX Park Prelims at the Dew Action Sports Tour Toyota Challenge in San Jose, it was hard to imagine that Sunday’s Finals could get any better. Well, they did. All 12 of the finalists came out swinging with explosive power, but in the end it was Scotty Cranmer who knocked out the competition.
Cranmer accepted his trophy amidst a sea of screaming girls making it hard to even hear the announcer congratulate him on his performance. Cranmer’s winning run that scored a 93.75 was blur of tailwhips and giant airs. He started off with a gigantic no-hand front flip flair up the big step-up, followed shortly by a double tailwhip to tire tap on the mini ramp. He pulled several more double tailwhips (including a picture perfect 360 double whip) on portions of the course that would be impossible for mere mortals to do so.
Not surprisingly, Ryan Nyquist and Daniel Dhers were also in the top three. The crowd erupted in cacophonous applause for local homeboy Nyquist who threw down what appeared to be an unbeatable first run that included a backflip double barspin and 360 to barspin off the curved wall ride. Nyquist, who scored a 93.5, is still riding without an ACL.
Daniel Dhers, the Venezuelan phenom, rounded out the top three spots with a super powerful run highlighted by textbook double whips, a no-hand flair on the quarter pipe and an unbelievable 360 x-up to tailwhip that blew away everyone in attendance. Somehow, his 92 score wasn’t enough though.
In fact, Dhers' score bumps him down to 2nd overall in the points standings. Cranmer's win puts him on top overall now. And Nyquist got bumped down from 2nd to 3rd overall. The three Dew Tour leaders are all within only 14 points of each other, so the final leg of the Dew Tour in Orlando is sure to be off the charts.
Gary Young, Steven McCann and Alistair Whitton filled in the top 6 positions in Sunday’s Finals in San Jose, all with big runs. Young pulled a huge 360 transfer from the center box to the step-up on the side that must have been 15 feet away. McCann pulled a no-hand to turndown 720 that still has the other riders scratching their heads. And Whitton put together a super aggressive run with a beautiful no-hand backflip on the center box and a giant iron monkey up the big step-up.
All the riders put their hearts and souls in to Sunday’s Finals, but perhaps none more than the ever-smiling Austin Coleman who finished 7th in Sunday’s Finals. The boy has style and really puts it all on the line. He pulled off his first no-hand flair in Saturday’s Prelims and he landed at least two more in the Finals. We may be witnessing Coleman breaking through and taking his ability to the next level, which could make him a regular contender for the podium from now on.
www.ridebmx.com: Park Finals went off today with some crazy runs. Daniel Dhers had a big cheering section in the stands and didn't let them down with a third place finish. Daniel's banger tricks included a 360 no-footed can-can tailwhip, double tailwhips, a no-handed flair, and a 360 x-up-to-tailwhip. First and second place were super close with only .25 between the scores. Second went to Ryan Nyquist whose best run consisted of a wallride-to-alley-oop barspin, a 540 barspin, a rocket barspin, a nosepick on the wall, and a rocket no-hander. First place and a big check went to Scotty Cranmer who nailed tricks like a no-handed frontflip up the step-up, a double tailwhip tailtap, a 360 tailwhip, double tailwhips, a 360 double tailwhip, and a flair.
Pete, www.harobikes.com: The Park final was insane with three out of 4 Haro riders making it in. Ryan Nyquist was excited to be riding in front of his hometown crowd and let loose with all his tricks including an alley-oop 270 barspin out of the curved wall, and a double-barspin backflip. Daniel Dhers ended up in third. He had alley-oop double whip 270s over the hip, double whips on the quarter, x-up to whip 360s, no-footed can-can to whip 360s, and no-handed flairs, but still couldn’t catch Nyquist and Cranmer. Colin Mackay was riding really good but had a couple of crashes that pushed him down into the 12th place spot. But just to be in the finals in an event like this, we're all proud of Colin here at Haro. The title chase going into Orlando is going to be crazy, with the top three riders (Cranmer, Dhers, and Nyquist) only 14 points apart. The final Park contest at the Playstation® Pro in Florida should be one to remember.
Ryan Nyquist.
Park final results:
1. Scotty Cranmer - 93.75
2. Ryan Nyquist - 93.50
3. Daniel Dhers - 92.00
4. Gary Young - 89.50
5. Steve McCann - 89.00
6. Alistair Whitton - 88.75
7. Austin Coleman - 88.75
8. Garrett Reynolds - 88.25
9. Allan Cooke - 87.00
10. Dave Dillewaard - 85.75
11. Morgan Wade - 85.25
12. Colin Mackay - 85.00
www.dewactionsportstour.com: Jamie Bestwick rolled into round four of the Dew Tour with a healthy lead in Vert points and didn’t bother to give his competitors a chance to catch up. Bestwick holds the patent on stylish vert riding, and his multiple 540 and flair variations aren’t too shabby, either. When he’s on his game it’s safe to say that he’s unbeatable, and he was definitely on the very top of his game in San Jose. That’s not to say that the other eleven guys on the ramp were taking it easy, though. Koji Kraft busted out a no-footed candybar/saran wrap, double barspins, and loads of three-stage switch-handed variations. Kraft sometimes has a problem riding until the buzzer sounds, but he turned in a full first run that helped get him into seventh place. Tom Haugen continues to fire out solid runs on vert, with consistent double tailwhips, alley-oop suicide no-handers, and barspin to barspin to x-ups. Francisco Zurita showed up from Chile for this year’s Dew Tour with high airs and smooth style, and has wasted no time working on big variations between each contest. He’s been better at every tour stop, busting out whips and flairs, along with a clean double whip in his second run. There’s no telling what he’ll pick up between now and the PlayStation® Pro next month. Jimmy Walker cruised into fifth with great runs filled with 540s, flairs, a turndown to late one-hander, and a turndown flair. Walker is great at using every inch of the ramp, carving from end to end every time he drops in. Kevin Robinson qualified uncharacteristically low in ninth place, and stayed low in the standings after sliding out in his first run. Robinson doesn’t go out like that, however, and returned for run two with a blistering set of huge 540s, flairs in both directions, and his signature no-handed flair. Simon Tabron took third with amazing turndown and no-handed 540s, along with a skin-of-the-teeth 900. He dropped a no-hander to barspin to x-up and a few other variations in his second run, then had some fun with a few dorkin’ airs to lighten up the mood. Chad Kagy slid out in his first run, so he knew he had to give it everything he had to try to top Bestwick’s first run (more on that below). Superman seatgrab barspin? Check. Superman seatgrab Indian air? Check. High flairs and barspin variations? Check. The icing on the cake was his flatspin 540 whip, which rocketed him up the standings into second. Kagy’s performance would have most likely been a winning run if Bestwick hadn’t annihilated the ramp already. In one of his best runs ever (which is a big statement when you’re talking about Jamie), he dropped a perfect downside tailwhip flair, a simply unbelievable alley-oop 540, a fastplant opposite flair, and about twenty other tricks worthy of sending him three full points ahead of the field. After his run, most of the riders on the decks prompted the crowd to extend their cheering, showing respect for the show Jamie had just put on. It was that good. Once again, the Dew Tour athletes delivered another amazing vert comp. Robinson was sufficiently psyched that he dropped in after everyone was done and blasted a perfect double flair, the second one he’s ever landed. It was a fitting end to a great contest.
1st Bestwick, Jamie 95.75
2nd Kagy, Chad 92.75
3rd Tabron, Simon 92.75
4th Robinson, Kevin 91.50
5th Walker, Jimmy 89.75
6th Haugen, Tom 87.75
7th Kraft, Koji 87.25
8th Zurita, Francisco 86.75
9th Eggleston, Jay 86.75
10th Mancuso, Mike 86.25
11th Parker, John 84.50
12th Williams, Danny 84.25
Robinson wins $5,000 and now his trick will compete for the PlayStation® Trick of the Year versus Ryan Nyquist's Barspin No-footed Can-can in Louisville, Keith McElhinney's Front Flip Flair in Denver and Scotty Cranmer's Tailwhip 360 to Tailwhip in at Portland's Vans® Invitational. Polls will be open throughout the week of the upcoming PlayStation® Pro, Saturday, October 7 - Sunday, October 15, when online voters will choose the PlayStation® Trick of the Year winner from the four PlayStation® Trick of the Week winners. The winner will be announced during the Dew Action Sports Tour NBC broadcast on Sunday, October 15. The winning athlete will take home $10,000 in cash as well as other PlayStation® prizes.