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Greg Weatherall © Lat34

Top 10 San Jose Moments

Sep 15 2006 / San Jose, CA
I Love What You Do For Me, San Jose!
It’s a sad, sad day. The Dew Action Sports Tour Toyota Challenge in San Jose has come to a close. But, think of all the memories we’ve shared. All the laughs. All the tears. Both good times and bad. We’ll always have that between us thanks to Lat34’s Top Ten Moments of San Jose. Read on for our rundown of the Dew Tour's multicultural fireworks and worldly wonders, a highlight reel detailing the international action sports invasion of Czechs, Brazillians, Aussies, and Brits.
 
10. Michal Prokop Wins BMX SX
(see video of the full BMX Supercross run)
First of all, it was awesome having BMX Supercross in San Jose. Sort of felt like we were in the movie Rad. Second, the big 1,600 foot-long course was aggressive and had a huge, two-story roll-in start. And third, Michal Prokop, the Czech known for being one of the world’s best Mountain Bike Downhill and Slalom riders, beat out nearly 100 riders from 17 countries to claim 1st place. (click here for the full story)
 
Bob Burnquist, Sandro Dias, Lincoln Ueda, Nilton Neves, and Rodolfo Ramos came out in force to represent a future in which Brazillian skaters take the rest of the world to school and Dew Tour announcers are forced to learn Portuguese.

PHOTO GALLERY

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See photos of Nate Adams in the FMX Finals in San Jose
View Gallery>
 
8. Nate Adams Flies Into 1st
(see video of the full run)
Nate slaughtered the FMX field with a sizzling high score of 93.5, linking big no-handed backflips to giant seat grabs, and super smooth backflip cordovas. No one else even came close to Nate’s huge first run. Travis Pastrana didn’t show up to the Toyota Challenge, opting instead to focus on racing rally cars for Subaru. With Pastrana out of the way, Nate Adams is guaranteed the overall Dew Tour Title in FMX this year, barring any serious mishaps between here and Orlando. (click here for the full story)
 
7. Can I get some Ballmer Natty Boh in my Dew Cup, Hon?
(Watch the Skate Vert Finals on Demand | See photo gallery from Skate Vert Finals)
Baltimore native Bucky Lasek’s big Skate Vert win puts him one step closer to a repeat performance in the Dew Tour overall championships, leaving Sandro Dias as the only serious contender. Lasek was the leader coming into San Jose, but had yet to win an individual event on this tour, which would have been a chump of a way to win. Toyota may have to put him on the payroll: In addition to driving off in last year’s Dew Tour championship prize, Lasek also won the 30th Anniversary Toyota/Pro Celebrity Race in April. (click here for the full story)
 

PHOTO GALLERY

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Photos from the Skate Vert Finals in San Jose
View Gallery>
6. Colin Mackay Breaks Laws of Physics
(see photo gallery from BMX Park Prelims)
Mackay must have failed miserably in Physics class, because during BMX Park Prelims he was tampering with Newton’s first, second, and third laws of physics. He launched a gap to wallride and down to the quarter pipe, all at weird 90 degree angles. I guess you just had to be there. Unfortunately, he didn’t land this sick trick in the Finals.
 
5. Caballero, el Capitan
(see Vert photo gallery)
Skate legend and local skater Steve Caballero showed up as a wild card competitor in the Skate Park contest, inspiring nearly every skater in the Vert and Park Finals to throw his signature fakie 360s (Caballaerials) or fakie 180s (half-Cabs) into their runs in tribute to the master. If you keep looking for Animal Chin, you’re never going to find him. 
 
4. BMX Primed To Take Over The World
(see BMX photos)
BMX has officially surpassed Ringling Brothers as the most exciting show on Earth. This is due in large part to the BMX Park designs, which keep getting better and better. Jack Murphy’s team works with Dennis McCoy and the rest of the riders to create challenging new designs at every stop, making for incredibly intense contests that keep audiences perched on the edge of their seats. (click here for the full story)
 
The Aussies were unbeatable. Ryan Guettler, Luke Parslow, Corey Bohan, Dave Dilleward, Cameron White, and Colin Mackay claim the top 6 spots in the BMX Dirt Finals, taking to the cool new course design like hopped up kangaroos in the Outback. (click here for the full story)

PHOTO GALLERY

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See the unbeatable Aussies in photos from BMX Dirt Finals in San Jose
View Gallery>
Pictured: Ryan Guettler
 
2. Guettler’s Back In Action
(Check out BMX Dirt Recap | see Ryan's Athlete Bio)
Ryan Guettler deserves a Top Moment all to himself. He killed it Friday night at the Dirt Finals, dropping in from the tower with a quick x-up followed by a double tailwhip on the first hip, a super smooth 720, a perfect front flip, and another double tailwhip on the final set. He launched his 720 over the small, hyper-angled hip, which made it more like an 800. Good on ya mate! (click here for the full story)
 
1. Blimey! Bestwick’s Bloody Brilliant
(see video highlights)
Jamie Bestwick’s round one run in the BMX Vert Finals was so perfect that the winning score of 95.7 seemed unfairly low – as if the judges were trying to leave a charitable glimmer of hope so the rest of the riders wouldn’t just give up and go home. (click here for the full story)