Jared Souney © Lat34

Mirra is Back but Spinner Steals Show

BMX Park Prelims got off to a blistering start at the Dew Tour PlayStation Pro in Orlando Saturday afternoon. Over 30 riders competed in the best-of-two format contest to secure their place in Sunday’s season-ending Finals. The big news of the day surrounds two men who represent completely opposite sides of the spectrum. One is a legend in the sport and one of the most respected riders in the history of BMX. The other is a brand new rider, who rocketed into the limelight today with his very first pro contest performance.

We’re talking about Dave Mirra and the appropriately named Mike Spinner. Mirra has been out most of the season due to injuries, but came to Orlando to test the waters. He threw out a giant back flip whip, a big 720 over the box, and tweaked out turndown flair. And on his second run Mirra attempted an unbelievable no-handed 360 back flip, a new trick for him. So, after qualifying in 5th place we’ll be seeing more of Mirra at Sunday’s Finals. Mirra’s been nursing a lacerated liver since X Games that doctors said he wouldn’t recover from until November.

And then there’s Mike Spinner. This Orlando local amateur blew up at the Free Flow Tour in Portland this summer. Spinner is the only rider in the world – pro or amateur – to pull of 720 tail whips. And he throws them out in the park like they’re candy. He was the first competitor to drop in at the Prelims and put down a phenomenal run that scored him a 92.75 and kept him in the 1st place qualifying position for the entire contest. The big grins on Spinner’s face after his run said it all. “I’m so psyched! I just practiced my run piece by piece by piece and put the puzzle all together and it worked out.”

BMX Park Prelims Check photos of Mike Spinner in the BMX Park Prelims in Orlando. View Gallery> Trick Sequences Chad Kagy Backglip Tailwhip Mike Spinner 720 Tailwhip Scotty Cranmer Double Tailwhip to Tail Tap Dhaniel Dhers Double Frontflip over a Spine

It’s not so much that the torch has been passed on to the younger generation as the bar has been raised yet again. All we can say is that Sunday’s Park Finals are going to be off the hook with amateurs qualifying first in pro contests. Alistair Whitton showed up to Prelims treating it like it was the Finals. A big back flip turndown and no-handed foot jam nose pick on the spine were enough for him to qualify 2nd.

Steven McCann qualified 3rd and put together a strong run, especially considering he busted out some teeth in practice earlier in the day. They said one of his teeth was still embedded in a ramp when Prelims started up. He nailed a double whip on the quarter pipe followed by a 720 to no-hander over the box and an amazing turndown 720 over the spine.

Daniel Dhers, who is 2nd in the overall points standings, had a super intense run that qualified him in 4th place for Sunday’s Finals. This is basically how it went: 720 over the box linked to a double whip linked to 360 whip, a flair, one-foot can can to tail whip, and on and on and on. Plus, in practice Dhers was pulling off front flips over the spine. Dave Mirra saw him pulling off the loco trick and shook his head saying, “Nobody does front flips over spines.”

Scotty Cranmer, currently 1st in overall points, showed up to Orlando looking for a big payday. Cranmer qualified in 6th place behind Mirra. And Ryan Nyquist, the Dew Tour’s #3 man in the overall points standings, qualified 7th with a solid run. Nyquist is still riding with a torn ACL, and won’t get surgery for it until after the contest season.

Haven't met Mike Spinner yet? Click on the picture to get Spinner's story: