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San Jose Dew Blog
Sep 11 2006 / San Jose, CAUpdate: 9/10/2006
That's a Wrap
We knew coming in that San Jose would be the pivotal Dew Tour stop in almost every contest, but we had no idea how close each race would be.
Our first two surprises:
We found out upon arrival that Travis Pastrana – the favorite to win in the overall FMX championship – would be out, apparently in favor of his new career as a rally car racer. His San Jose no-show left room for Nate Adams to push ahead, with 350 total points, to an unstoppable lead. Pastrana is still in 2nd place with 275 points, so an appearance in Orlando for the Playstation Pro next month could take the prize,
but rumor has it he's out for the season.
Ditto for Shaun White, who could have thrown a kink into the overall Skate Vert standings with a repeat of his Denver win but has bowed out to focus on his upcoming snowboarding season. Nyjah Huston was another no-show, leaving Sheckler unchallenged as the only minor threat from the under-18 set in Skate Park.
Our biggest surprise:
BMX stole the show. The Toyota Challenge BMX Supercross, Dirt, Vert, and Park contests represented such huge advances in the progression of the sport that San Jose may have to stand as a historic site in the
chronicles of BMX. The BMX Prelims were the most insane contest we saw this week, with 8 of the top 12 spots coming down to tie-breakers, and Scotty Cranmer (the eventual Finals champ) emerging from the mayhem.
We're thirsty for more, and can't wait to see what's next. Orlando, here we come.
- Colin Bane
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9/10/2006
In skateboard contests, the difference between first and last place is often a fine line: Just ask Shaun White, who started out his Dew Tour season by losing in Louisville and winning in Denver. Putting it all on the line is a big part of what skateboarding is all about, and both sides of the coin are worth examining.
In last night’s Skate Park Finals, Ryan Sheckler was the obvious winner. I’ve become a Sheckler fan, like everybody else, and I don’t begrudge him his success or surrounding hype, but Austen Seaholm’s glorious skate to 12th place was equally notable.
Which up-and-comers, currently toiling in obscurity, will be blowing your minds next year? I’d like Lat34 readers to be able to look back and say they first heard these names called out right here: Austen Seaholm and Nilton Neves.
Austen Seaholm is my kind of skater: Instead of merely dropping into the course for his first trick, he started each of his runs by taking a high-speed tour of half the course so that when he finally hit the first quarter-pipe hip he was literally flying.
Seaholm was so much fun to watch that the contest’s jam session format – in which only the top 6 skaters advance from the individual rounds to the freeform melee – felt like an injustice. I wanted to see more of the Seaholm show, and the anarchic jam format would have suited his style perfectly.
Of the six skaters who did advance, my favorite was another loveable loser: 6th place skater Nilton Neves. The dreadlocked Brazillian was so smooth, it was as if he was floating around the course: his mind-blowing 360 flip at the end of the final jam session was the most impressive trick I saw all night.
9/9/2006
Austin Coleman Busts A Move
BMXers pick of the day: Austin Coleman rocking out two of the best runs of his career back to back in BMX Park Prelims. The other riders looked on in awe as Coleman ripped up the course going bigger than most anyone else. He pulled off a one-handed tailwhip over the tabletop. He was also the only rider to launch up the huge step-up on the right side of course that had to be close to 10' high. Someone in the athlete pit yelled out, "Who let that kid loose?!" And finally, the ear-to-ear grin on Coleman’s face said it all after he pulled off a huge no-handed flair on the quarter pipe. He said it was the first one he’s ever done. Nice job Austin!
-Steve Lemig
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9/9/2006
When Worlds Collide
Gnarly Dew Tour moment of the day: During a casual warm-up session between heats in an intense BMX Park Prelim Morgan Wade came flying over a hip jump and crashed straight into Ryan Guettler.
Wade emerged first from the tangled wreckage of pink bikes, rubbing his shoulder as he went to survey the damage he’d inflicted. Guettler finally stood up, clutching his chest as if he’d been shot in the heart – not far from the truth.
Both riders managed to scrape themselves up to ride in the event, but the hit clearly rattled them both: Wade just barely made the cut in 11th place, and Guettler – last year’s overall Dew Tour champ – ended up way down in 32nd place in a field of 34 riders.
-Colin Bane
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9/9/2006
The Roots Rock
For the first time on this year’s Dew Tour: A musical act I can get behind. I rushed to finish and file my stories last night to get out to see the Roots, a band that takes everything I love about hip hop and combines it with serious musicianship and positive energy: a perfect complement to a day at the Dew Tour.
Led by drummer ?uestlove, the Roots banged through an hour-long set of old hits, new tracks from the Game Theory album they dropped last month, and improv jams including a chopped up “Smooth Criminal” cover. Having only ever seen them on smaller, more intimate stages on the East Coast, populated by hardcore hip hop heads, it was fun to see them playing to a mixed crowd on a big outdoor stage and still bringing it.
Seeing the Roots here is also an affirmation of the role of music in action sports, where the soundtrack has evolved to include everything from rap, Brit-pop, metal, punk oldies, and, um, Nickelback. No offense to our newest Lat34 blogger but… K Rob: Get with the program!
-Colin Bane
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9/9/2006Identity Crisis at the Skate Park
Why don’t the skateboard parks in big pro contests reflect the best in modern skatepark design? The question has been nagging at me all summer.
Park design in pro contests – on the Dew Tour, at the X Games, and everywhere else – is woefully uninspired, and the level of skating doesn’t compare to what you might see in any of the newer parks in cities and suburbs all across America.
The recent Oregon Trifecta contests provide the counter example here: These concrete parks are architectural marvels that inspire fast, flowing styles and huge new tricks. They combine the best of street, park, pool, and vert skating, and their builders constantly strive to outdo themselves and their own imagination by building innovative new obstacles that force skaters to adapt and evolve.
I’m not saying the Dew Tour needs to start pouring concrete, building cradles, and sending skaters hurtling over perilous gaps – then again, maybe they should – but Dew Tour designers need to start rethinking the park design if they want to bring in some of the excitement and new breed of skaters seen in the Trifecta contests.
In BMX Park, the designers are closer to getting it right: At each Dew Tour event, we’ve seen increasingly complex designs allowing for infinite lines and endless possibilities.
By heading in the other direction, skateboarding is missing a golden opportunity.
-Colin Bane
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9/8/2006
One of the great things about being a media person at the Dew Tour is hanging out with pros. These are people who have a pretty cool perspective on life. I mean, they have adoring fans wherever they go, they get paid to travel the world and do what they love most. You'd think they'd be pretty full of themselves because of all the attention they get. And a few of them are. But, for the most part they are all regular peeps who happen to have cool jobs.
I ran into Robbie Maddison, who's been rocking the FMX world this year. He told me a funny story about how, even he has embarrassing moments just like everyone else. It goes like this:
"I was in Louisville, Kentucky for the Dew Tour this year hanging out in a the hotel jacuzzi soaking away some soreness one night. And there was another guy in there with him who looked like he might be on the Dew Tour also. He looked somewhat familiar. So, I asked him if he was on the Dew Actions Sports Tour and he said yes. And I'm fresh from Australia so I said, "Ah! Me too, mate!" And then the guy said that his knee was sore, and I said, "Oh, what sport are you in?" He said that he skates. I said, "Oh, I love skating. I've been doing it since I was 16!" And I play Tony Hawk all the time. So, then I'm thinking what is this guy's name? Should I ask him? Either I'm going to be horribly embarrassed or he's just going to be someone like me. So, I go, "Excuse my ignorance, but what's your name?" And he says, "Bucky." And I was like, "Dude!" And he's the guy I always use on Tony Hawk!"
Funny who you meet on these trips. You just never know.
-Steve Lemig
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9/7/2006
The Dew Action Sports Tour Toyota Challenge is thrashing the HP Pavilion in San Jose, the city of sharks. It’s the 4th leg in the 5-stop Dew Tour, and the competition’s not showing any signs of slowing down… at least, not the ones who are still in the Tour. We’ve seen a ton of injuries this year, but when one athlete falls, another is right there to fill the slot. And that’s why the crowds keep coming.
The Dew Tour is one of the biggest competition in action sports. And by the vibe in San Jose, it’s going to keep on growing. Despite being a Thursday, the crowds are already swarming the Pavilion. They’re ready for a big show. And that’s exactly what we’re expecting. We’ve got BMX Supercross, a signature event for the San Jose Toyota Challenge. We’re also looking forward to checking out The Roots and Dilated Peoples, who’ll be performing this weekend.
So, stay tuned to the Lat34 Blog for the latest goings-on at the Toyota Challenge in San Jose. I’ve already seen Steve Caballero hanging out. And I met with BMX legend Dennis McCoy at lunch. All the big names are here. We’ll report it all.
- Steve Lemig
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