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700XR spent the weekend at the Dew Tour Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake City. We got a lot of great interviews, videos, and photos. Here are a few shots from the Skateboard Vert Finals on Friday.
Sandro Dias. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Adam Taylor. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Bob Burnquist. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Rob Lorifice. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Bucky Lasek, Dew Tour SLC Winner. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Andy MacDonald. Photo by: Taylor James Cameron
Salt Lake City – September 20, 2009 – Great Britain-native Jamie Bestwick won the BMX vert finals on Sunday at the Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge, marking his third straight win of the 2009 season.
Bestwick’s flawless run included a flair over the center bank gap, an alley oop tailwhip and a 540 alley oop, giving him a score of 93.38. The win puts Bestwick 54 points ahead of his closest competitor in the Dew Tour rankings, making him the top contender for the Dew Cup, an honor he has received four consecutive years.
“I was really tired going into this, but that was one of the best runs I’ve had in a long time,” said Bestwick. “I’m so excited and proud of myself, and this puts me in a good position going into Orlando. I want that Dew Cup!”
However Bestwick wasn’t the only rider wowing the crowd during the vert finals. Second-place finisher Chad Kagy of Gilroy, Calif. landed a Superman seat grab over the bank gap and a nac nac x-up one-hander during a run that earned him a score of 92.13. The third-place spot on the podium went to Melbourne’s Steven McCann, who threw out a tuck no-hander 540 and a flair tuck no-hander for a score of 91.13.
Notable riders included Tim Wood of Australia who threw out a 900 followed by a flair in his first run and went for back-to-back 900s in the second. Fellow Aussie Vince Byron competed in his first ever Dew Tour finals, landing tricks like a 540 tailwhip and a 540 barspin.
The four-day competition featuring skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross is the fourth of five events on the Dew Tour, which will continue on to Orlando for the conclusion of the 2009 season. Over the four days, 57,329 fans experienced the Dew Tour at Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena.
Salt Lake City – September 19, 2009 – Venezuelan rider and defending Dew Cup champion Daniel Dhers won the BMX park finals at the Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge, putting him at the top spot of the podium for the first time during the 2009 season. Brazilian-native Rodolfo Ramos won the skateboard park final, marking his first ever Dew Tour win.
Dher’s first-place run in BMX park was packed with crowd-pleasing tricks, including a 360 barspin backwards over the box, a 360 backflip tailwhip and a corked 720 over the street spine. Garrett Reynolds of Toms River, N.J. placed second, securing his lead in the Dew Tour season rankings. His run included a barspin to wallride on the step up and a barspin to x-up over the street spine. In the second Dew Tour finals of his career, 14-year-old Brett Banasiewicz of South Bend, Ind. received his first podium finish and secured the third-place position.
Dave Mirra and Reynolds were tied for first place in the overall points standings heading into the Toyota Challenge. While Mirra’s runs landed him in sixth place in today’s finals, Reynolds’ second-place finish gives him at a cushy 22-point lead over Mirra and a 42-point lead over Dhers in the Dew Cup race.
“I’m very happy to have won again because the past few stops haven’t really been going my way,” said 24-year-old Dhers. “I put in a lot of work these last few weeks coming into Salt Lake, and I’ve been working on new tricks. I’m happy with how it turned out.”
The skate park finals included four skaters that are new to the Dew Tour this year – Chris Cole, Ryan Decenzo, Tyler Hendley and Nick Dompierre – two of whom placed on the podium. Chris Cole, of Philadelphia, Pa., finished in second and Nick Dompierre, of East Freetown, Mass., placed third. However, the first-place spot went to Dew Tour veteran Rodolfo Ramos, who won the top podium spot for the first time in his Dew Tour career after competing in 14 previous finals. Ramos’ run included a hardflip 5-0, a back tail on the hubba and a hardflip back 180.
“I was really nervous when I woke up this morning, and I’m so happy that I won,” said Ramos. “I can’t believe it, and I’m looking forward to Orlando. I hope I can do it again.”
Immediately following the skate park finals, Transworld SKATEboarding held a Best Trick contest on the rail outside of EnergySolutions Arena near the John Stockton and Carl Malone statues. Eleven skaters threw out their best tricks during a twenty-minute jam session, getting cash from a $1,000 pool for each one landed. Ryan Decenzo was named the winner for his switch 270 frontside boardslide to fakie and received a check for $2,500.
“It’s insane for me because the last Best Trick contest I won at the Dew Tour’s Portland stop was the first Best Trick contest I’ve ever won,” said Decenzo. “Two Best Trick contests. Two for two. I’m stoked.”
The four-day competition featuring skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross is the fourth of five events on the Dew Tour, which will continue on to Orlando for the conclusion of the 2009 season.
We caught up with BMX Vert athlete Jamie Bestwick on Friday, right after he took a huge slam during his practice session. He was a little upset, but shook it off so he could talk with us. Check out this video for his thoughts on Salt Lake City, the Dew Tour Toyota Challenge and his relationship with Toyota.
Salt Lake City – September 18, 2009 – Bucky Lasek of Baltimore, Md. won the skate vert finals at the Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge, putting him atop the leader board in the season-long Dew Tour rankings. San Jose, Calif.-native Ryan Nyquist narrowly took home the first-place finish at the BMX dirt finals, also putting him in the top spot for the season rankings.
The skate vert finals heated up when it was narrowed down to a final jam session that included Bucky Lasek, Andy Macdonald, Sandro Dias, Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Rob Lorifice. Each skater threw out bangers during their five 30-second runs, but in the end Lasek came out on top with tricks like a number of switch 360s and a nose blunt into the gap.
The Toyota Challenge marks Lasek’s second first-place podium finish in the 2009 Dew Tour season, the first being at the Skate Open in Boston, giving him the overall points lead heading into the final stop of the Dew Tour in Orlando. Andy Macdonald of Boston, Mass. placed second, and Sandro Dias of Brazil rounded out the podium in third.
“I just went for it today and had a good time,” said Lasek. “I’m stoked to be going into the final Dew Tour stop with two first-place wins under my belt. Hopefully I’ll get those oranges in Orlando!”
TJ Ellis of Moreno Valley, Calif. was in the lead at the BMX dirt final after completing his second run, and only extended his lead with his third and final run. It came down to the last rider of the night, Nyquist, who jumped from eighth place to first with a run that included a one-handed x-up 360, an opposite 360 tuck no-hander and a 720 one-footed x-up. Nyquist finished with a score of 92.56 and Ellis came in a close second with a score of 92.31.
“I’m really excited about where this win puts me in the Dew Tour standings,” said Nyquist. “I’m just really glad I was able to pull off that last run. Being in that pressure situation and being able to deliver makes it that much more sweet.”
The four-day competition featuring skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross is the fourth of five events on the Dew Tour, which will continue on to Orlando for the conclusion of the 2009 season.
The Dew Tour continues. Day two is in the books. We caught up with skateboard vert rider and Team Toyota member Bob Burnquist right after he finished competing in the prelims. We asked him about his experiences in Salt Lake City and what he thought it would take to get the Mega Ramp added to the Dew Tour. Check out the interview:
For more on Bob, check out his website HERE.
It’s official. The AST Dew Tour Toyota Challenge is happening right now in Salt Lake City at Energy Solutions Arena. On day one we caught up with Skateboard Park rider and member of Team Toyota Greg Lutzka. Check out the interview:
Lutzka is a technical skater, who likes to incorporate kickflip combos into his runs – runs that usually seem to hit most everything on the course. Greg Lutzka loves to try new things and challenge himself, and this style shows in his skateboarding.
Head down to ESA on Friday for a chance to meet Greg at the Toyota booth, or stop by Saturday to watch him compete.
Tyler Tate caught up with Bucky Lasek at X Games 15 a few weekends ago, a few hours before he went on to win silver in the Skateboard Vert competition. Bucky gave his thoughts on the X Games, the progression of the sport, a preview of the upcoming Dew Tour in Salt Lake City, and his thoughts about Utah. Check it out:
X-Games 15 is in the books. With all of the finals in, we wanted to revisit Taylor and Tyler’s gold medal predictions to see how they did.
Taylor’s Picks (actual results in BOLD).
Tyler’s Picks (actual results in BOLD).
