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What You May Have Missed: The 2007 Panasonic Open: Recap

Jun 28 2007 / Baltimore, MD

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Did you miss any or all of the AST Dew Tour this weekend? Here's everything you need to know:

The 2007 AST Dew Tour kicked off with a bang with the Panasonic Open in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first time the tour had stopped in Baltimore, and the city proved to be a gracious host, with 54,907 fans turning out to watch the event, the second highest attendance in tour history.

There were a significant number of changes introduced with this Dew Tour stop, including how events were scheduled and the format of BMX Park, Dirt and Skate Vert. Also, for the first time, all events were held outside -- something that helped draw more crowds, but also wrecked havoc with certain events due to high winds. In fact, any event with the promise of big air (FMX, BMX Dirt, BMX Vert, Skate Vert) waw affected, and open qualifiers and prelims were pushed hours if not days. The sun was blazing most of the time, meaning many spectators probably went home with a good case of sunburn as well.

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When events did go off, there were few surprises. In fact, every winner of the six featured sports had won multiple times before. After the top spot, there were a few new names to reach the podium, and several familiar faces (Scotty Cranmer, Anthony Napolitan, Sandro Dias) failed to make the finals of their disciplines. But all in all, it was business as usual when the trophies were handed out.

As can happen, there were injuries -- some more severe than others. And while they may not have been weather related, it didn't help matters. The worst crash came on Friday night during the BMX Dirt finals when Stephen Murray flew off his bike on the last jump of his second run. Stephen landed badly and was rushed to the hospital where surgery was performed and at last notification, he was in critical but stable condition. There were other slams, including Chad Kagy being knocked unconscious in the BMX Vert finals, but by far, Murray accident was the worst and many riders continued to send best wishes throughout the competition.

With Baltimore the host city, local talent was featured whenever possible. The biggest local name was Bucky Lasek (left), the two-time Dew Cup champ in Skate Vert, who had hoped to impress local crowds once again. Unfortunately, Lasek was injured and didn't skate to his normal degree, falling on two of his three runs. He still managed a third-place tie (and was knocked to fourth with the tiebreaker). But one other name made an impact. Mathieu Therres showed up for the open qualifier and made it to the prelims, where he edged Paul Rodriguez to make it into the finals in the 12th spot. Once through, he shined, placing fifth against a tough set of competitors, including the one and only Ryan Sheckler (right).

Fans who couldn't show up were able to watch the broadcasts on USA and NBC, and every event except FMX was shown to some degree. The TV broadcasts can't show every run of every sport in most cases, but they can get through the highlights. One programming change did happen on Saturday, when FMX was pushed out of the NBC timeslot in favor of BMX Park. No official explanation was given, but weather could be one reason. The FMX finals will see the light of day online this Thursday, when Motocross.com will show the finals in their entirety. There could still be the feeling that FMX is the red-haired stepchild in the family of Dew Tour sports -- especially when riders had to actually refuse to perform when they thought the weather conditions were too dangerous..

The TV broadcast featured some new co-hosts, including Ryan Nyquist for BMX Vert and Jamie Bestwick for BMX Park and Dirt. The inclusion of a pro definitely helped with truly painting a picture for the viewer as to how difficult a trick might be or to give insight into the mind of those pros competing.

The pros also helped explain why the format changes were beneficial. In BMX Park, for example, the format of two individual runs of 45 seconds apiece was done away with in favor of a three minute jam session with three riders. It allowed for a more causual approach to making tricks and planning one's run. Similarly, giving skaters three short runs in Skare Vert helped give them a chance to play it safe with one run and go out on the other two -- though for most riders their first turned out to be their best.

What didn't necessarily work was some of the judging. Although it's always subjective, fans in the crowd and even the broadcast's announcers openly questioned some calls by the judges, especially in the jam format of BMX Park.

But regardless, at the end of the weekend it was clear that while there may be some ups and downs, the Dew Tour is doing an admirable job bringing action sports to the masses.

If you missed anything, check below for full recaps, resuls and photo galleries...

The 2007 AST Dew Tour - The Panasonic Open (Baltimore, MD) - June 21-24

Skate Park