Bestwick Wins; Tabron Second in Vans Invitational 2007 BMX Vert Finals
Aug 18 2007 / Portland, OR
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Simon Tabron came close for winning his second AST Dew Tour stop in a row but Jamie Bestwick saved the best for last, winning the BMX Vert finals in Portland at the Vans Invitational with his final run scoring a towering 94.67, bypassing Tabron's 92.67. Kevin Robinson came in third with a 92.00 on his second run, followed by Steven McCann and his 90.83. Jay Eggleston rounded out the top five with an 89.17.
Bestwick was determined to win this event after finishing a distant 7th at the Right Guard Open in Cleveland last month.
"I wanted it really bad tonight and I think I put a little bit too much pressure on myself on that first run," Bestwick said after the win. "It took one run for me to realize just to stop being such an idiot and just get on with having a good time with riding."
Whereas Bestwick fell on his first run, Tabron nailed his, putting down the 92.67. Tabron chose to play it safe with his second run, hoping Bestwick wouldn't come through. However, Bestwick had no trouble and his second run was smooth and jammed with tricks like an ally-oop tailwhip, flair turndown and a tailwhip flair.
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After the run Tabron and Robinson greeted Bestwick and waited for the score, knowing that he was going to have a big score.
In Portland the vert ramp was located inside the Rose Garden and Bestwick received a rose along with his Vans Invitational trophy. The first two Dew Tour stops had outdoor ramps, which meant that weather played a pivitol role in the competitions.
With the win Bestwick holds a 30 point win in the Dew Cup race ahead of Simon Tabron.
The Vert ranks have been populated with pretty much the same faces over the last few years, but on the Dew Tour in 2007, that's changing. A handful of new entrants are spicing things up, and they're full of surprises since they're working so hard to establish themselves on the circuit.
That was evident right off the bat in Thursday's Vert Prelims, when Brian Cunningham dropped in and threw an opposite flair, barspin to barspin back, and even came close to pulling a 540 tailwhip, which only a few of the most elite Vert riders have pulled in the past. Austin Coleman was up next, and he unveiled a double downside whip, which has never been pulled in Vert competition before. Jorge Jovel kept it rolling with a new superman to tailwhip and a string of flairs but, like Cunningham, couldn't put it all together to make the cut.
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More familiar riders like Steven McCann and Jay Eggleston made some big moves in Prelims as well. McCann's entering Vert for the first time this year, and has already found himself on the podium with a 2nd in Cleveland. His solid double tailwhips and no-handed flairs helped him qualify in 3rd here. Eggleston is a long-standing staple in Vert, but he's stepped up and has been riding better than ever this year. He led tonight's competition for a long time (until Jamie Bestwick took over), having blasted huge 540s and two perfect fakie airs to end his runs. Zack Warden is another new jack who's riding like a seasoned vet, nibbling all over the entire ramp in both of his runs. He pulled a double tailwhip and a sweet handplant to finish in the top five. Kevin Robinson wasn't riding to his full potential, but K-Rob at 70% is still impressive, so he qualified for Finals and will get another crack at the ramp tomorrow. He still pulled killer tabled 540s and no-handed flairs.
Dennis McCoy continues to prove that being the oldest guy on the Vert ramp doesn't mean he can't still kick some BMX butt. Big 540s and barspin transfers into the bowled end of the ramp are just a glimpse of what we'll see out of him in the Finals. Simon Tabron threw a full house of 540 variations, but he kept the no-hander to barspin 540 and the 900 in his back pocket for the Finals. Jamie Bestwick took it fairly easy, which was still pretty nuts. He'll have plenty of guys keeping him honest tomorrow, so he'll be kicking out the jams to make sure he stays on top. The Vert show is really starting to shake up, so make sure you catch the Finals on Friday night for the best action in town.
Prelims Results
1st Bestwick, Jamie 90.17
2nd Eggleston, Jay 88.33
3rd McCann, Steven 87.33
4th Tabron, Simon 86.83
5th Warden, Zack 86.67
6th McCoy, Dennis 85.17
7th Robinson, Kevin 85.00
8th Walker, Jimmy 84.50
9th Parker, John 83.33
10th Coleman, Austin 81.67
11th Jovel, Jorge 80.67
12th Kraft, Koji 79.83
13th Branham, Jason 79.67
14th Williams, Danny 79.33
15th Snowden, Ben 78.67
16th Cunningham, Brian 78.67
17th Mancuso, Mike 78.50
19th Haugen, Tom 75.33
