Enarson Wins Thrilling Finals - Vans Invitational 2007 BMX Dirt Finals

Aug 18 2007 / Portland, OR

 

Dennis Enarson came virtually out of nowhere to claim a win on the AST Dew Tour in only his third event. The 16 year old Enarson didn't compete in the Dew Tour last year and made waves at the Panasonic Open where he finished in 3rd in BMX Park (he didn't make the finals in Dirt). At last month's Right Guard Open, he again missed the finals in Dirt while finishing 10th in Park.

So to see Enarson totally dominate the competition was a bit of a surprise, but dominate he did, scoring in the 90s for each of his runs. Included in those runs, a variety of whips including two triple whips, two double whip 360s and more. Diogo Carina, 24, of Brazil, ended up in second despute running into some problems with his rear wheel before his third run. His tricks included a no-handed frontflip and a first-in-competition opposite double tailwhip. Last year's Dew Cup winner Anthony Napolitan stepped up for the first time this season, landing several new tricks and ending up in third.

2007 Vans Invitational Photo Gallery    Check Out Photos From The BMX Dirt Finals View Gallery>

Two riders, TJ Ellis and Ryan Guettler, performed double backflips, the trick that Stephen Murray crashed attempting in Baltimore during the Panasonic Open. Ellis ended up in fourth while Guettler ended up in sixth, partially due to crashing during his final run while trying another double backflip.

Ryan Nyquist, the dirt champ at the first two stops of the Dew Tour, finished in fith place. Morgan Wade, who led the qualifiers on Thursday, ended up in 12th place.

BMX Dirt Final Results

1st    Enarson, Dennis    93.17
2nd    Canina, Diogo    92.92
3rd    Napolitan, Anthony    92.00
4th    Ellis, TJ    91.42
5th    Nyquist, Ryan    90.84
6th    Guettler, Ryan    90.17
7th    Doyle, Chris    89.00
8th    Nastazio, Cory    88.25
9th    Mackay, Colin    88.17
10th    Foster, James    85.84
11th    Bohan, Corey    84.67
12th    Wade, Morgan    82.83

- Lat34.com

BMX Dirt Prelims Results

The Dirt course in Portland is set up with some tricky elements, pushing the rider's skills beyond the typical straight doubles usually seen at contests. The first set is long and low, so it's a little tougher to throw tricks over; most riders stick with x-ups or maybe turndowns over it. The second set is a big tricker, and the third has a hip landing set at about 50 degrees to the takeoff. From there, the rider gets whipped into a 180-degree berm, which leads to a roller and a short step-down, which is followed by some cranking space into the final set. Riders can set themselves apart if they trick all five jump opportunities rather than just the three main ones, and they can pick up points with big tricks over the hip into the berm.

Speaking of which, Morgan Wade shot to first place after his first run, due largely to the 360 flip he threw over the hip. His nothing to tailwhip and double whip didn't hurt, either. James Foster pulled a first-in-Dirt competition whip to whip back, and he's got plenty more on tap for the Finals. Diogo Canina knocked out multiple double tailwhip 360s and landed a crazy 720 over the hip. Ryan Guettler looked super strong, landing clean double tailwhips and a no-footed can-can flip. Ryan Nyquist rounded out the top five with a double truckdriver and a double barspin backflip.

Other notables included Cory Nastazio's superman backflip, Chris Doyle's awesome inverted 360, and Dennis Enarson's triple tailwhip. Corey Bohan and Cam White were closest to Nyquist in overall points coming into Portland, and as the Prelims were winding down, White was hanging on in 12th and things didn't look good for Bohan. At the last second, Bohan was able to land a clean barspin to tailwhip, pushing White out of the 12th spot and keeping his own hopes for the Dirt Dew Cup alive. Check the action Friday evening to see if he can top Nyquist in the Finals.

Prelims Results

1. Wade, Morgan 92.33
2. Foster, James 90.67
3. Canina, Diogo 89.33
4. Guettler, Ryan 88.50
5. Nyquist, Ryan 87.67
6. Napolitan, Anthony 87.67
7. Nastazio, Cory 87.67
8. Doyle, Chris 87.00
9. Mackay, Colin 86.67
10. Enarson, Dennis 86.33
11. Ellis, TJ 86.33
12. Bohan, Corey 86.17
13. White, Cameron 85.83
14. Parslow, Luke 85.83
15. Gerber, Chris 85.67
16. McCann, Steven 85.33
17. Wirch, Scott 85.17
18. Cooke, Allan 85.00
19. Dosch, Brandon 84.33
20. Cleveland, Michael 84.00
21. Darden, Rob 81.33
22. Marks, Joey 80.83
23. Lavin, TJ 79.67
24. Searls, Dane 79.33
25. Laguna, Ricardo 79.00
26. Dillewaard, Dave 78.33
27. Stead, Josh 76.67
28. Clark, Michael 75.00
29. Young, Gary 60.00

--Press Release