Top 10 Portland Dew Tour Moments

Aug 26 2006 / Portland Here are Lat34's Top Ten Moments from the Dew Tour Vans Invitational...

VIDEO CLIP Watch Sandro Dias and his winning run. PLAY CLIP >

10.  Dias Wins Skate Vert
(see video)

Sandro Dias finally won a  Dew Tour Skate Vert gold medal, something that has eluded him for far too long. Coming hot off of his win at the X Games, Sandro lays waste to the ramp and everyone who skated it, including favorites such as Shaun White, Bob Burnquist, and Bucky Lasek.

9.  Kagy’s Whirlybird
(see radio interview)

Chad Kagy rides away from a flat spin 540 double tailwhip (aka The Whirlybird) for the first time ever in a timed vert run. It wasn’t enough to get him the gold, Bestwick ran off with that, but it was certainly a milestone, both personal and for the overall progression of BMX Vert.

8.  The Spirit of Snowboarding
(read more in the blog)

Mike Cassanova gave away his Snowboard Rail Jam gold medal to Jonas Michilot. The riders made the most of what they had on the three-rail set up, and everyone killed it, but Mike obviously felt Jonas deserved the gold more, and passed it on to him in a gesture of true personal justice.

7. Skate Street Goes Off
(view the photo gallery) 

The two, six-skater jam sessions, which closed out the Skate Street final were two of the most progressive & unbelievable park sessions anyone has ever seen. The crowd barely had a chance to sit down, and the skaters barely had a chance to catch their breath with bangers being thrown left & right by the likes of Ryan Sheckler, Jereme Rogers, Greg Lutzga, and Nyjah Huston.

6.  Oregon Local Kills It On His Own Turf
(read the full story)

Oregon Local Bo Bamberg placed 5^th in the FMX finals. With tricks like a no handed backflip, a backflip heelclicker, and a backflip cordova he showed that he can roll with the best of them at a very high level of competiton. Bo represented for locals world-wide who know that there’s nothing like showing up the tourists on your own grounds.

5.  Nyquist’s Suicide Double-Barspin Backflip
(see photos)

Ryan Nyquist flew west this week from Greenville, NC with a completely torn left ACL, and had no plans to compete in Portland . He changed his mind, he bought a knee brace, he flew to Portland and he won the BMX Park finals. Oh, he also managed to stomp a suicide double-barspin backflip.  He’s feeling better.

PHOTO GALLERY See photos from the Skate Street Finals VIEW GALLERY>

4. Nyjah's Frontside Hurricane
(see photo)

It might not be a double backflip, or a suicide double barspin backflip, or a “Whirlybird”, but Nyjah Huston’s frontside hurricane on the down-bar during the Skate Street final proved that he has skate knowledge well beyond his years – in fact, well beyond most people’s years. It was a display of true technical skills and the fact that it was dripping with unbelievable style was an upside too.

3.  Pastrana Continues His Crusade

Travis Pastrana toped the podium in the FMX final today, above Nate Adams and Adam Jones, who got second and third respectively. Travis is on a serious winning streak right now and the sense that he’s unbeatable is slowly saturating the air of every FMX competition that he enters.

2.  Cameron White’s Triple Tailwhip
(see the video)

Cameron White was throwing triple tailwhips at the X Games, but was never able to include one in a complete run. Here at the Vans Invitational, he stomped it over the first set, and continued to ride out a great run which landed him straight in first place as he took the podium in BMX Dirt.

VIDEO CLIP       See photos from the FMX Finals. VIEW GALLERY >

1.  Spinner’s 720 Tailwhip
(read the full story)

Not only did Mike Spinner dominate the Free Flow Tour BMX Finals, he also stomped the first ever in-competition 720 Tailwhip right at the buzzer. The crowd erupted, the riders freaked out, and Spinner spun his way into a spot at the Playstation Pro in Orlando .