Vindication Time For Sandro Dias

Aug 04 2006 / Los Angeles, CA

PHOTO GALLERY Check out all of the action from  the X Games 12 Skate Vert competition in the Gallery.  VIEW GALLERY >

It's Sandro Dias' big moment. At the Denver Dew Tour stop, many thought the Brazilian skater's run should have been on top. Hiding in the shadows of the great White hype machine, Dias has been quietly plotting his attack leading up to X Games 12. He took second in Denver, won the Soul Bowl contest last month, and came into the X Games looking for Gold.

"To be honest, I don't really think about what anybody else is doing, I just come out to do my best," said Dias, his signature style as a cool, calm, and collected friend-to-all oozing as he soaked up his moment in the spotlight. "When I got here and saw this ramp, I just wanted to mix it up. I like technical tricks, and I like to go high, so over the last few days, I just tried to make my run in parts and then put it all together."

Dias was the only skater in the competition to float over the huge channel gap on the hip, and he was rock-solid on some big tricks including his signature "gnar jar," a backside 540 to tail tap that looks impossible, sounds like he's breaking his board, and literally jars his body and sends a collective cringe through the crowd every time he does it, even though he makes it seem effortless.

Shaun White has been everybody's top story coming into X Games 12 – he won an ESPY award last month, and ESPN cameras literally shadow his every move here – but at Lat34 we always hedge our bets: So far this summer he's skating with an obsessive compulsion and an all-or-nothing game plan, and that kind of skating can only go one way or the other.

VIDEO CLIP Check out Sandro Dias win the Skate Vert at the X Games VIEW CLIP>

Tonight White made repeated attempts in practice and in each of his runs for one trick that repeatedly tripped him up: a frontside gay twist with a flip that wasn't even particularly cool and has an especially dumb name. Still, you've gotta give the man credit for sticking to his plan instead of just trading out the trick. In a way, you start to feel bad for him: with a camera perpetually in your face, it becomes very difficult to find a reflective moment to gather up what it takes to stick a winning run.

Each of the other top skaters in the contest – including Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist, and Andy Macdonald – took falls in their runs as well. Instead of breaking out new runs in each of the rounds, most of the skaters seemed to go for the exact same lines; Dias came out huge right from the start, holding first place throughout the contest.

"Sandro's an amazing skateboarder and I think he deserves it," said Silver medalist Bob Burnquist. I was a switch-kickflip away from a Gold and it's really tough because I feel like I can do that trick in my sleep, but that's the way it goes. It shuffles around, and that's cool. That's skateboarding. Next year might be Shaun White's turn: There no way, shape, or form that kid is going away."

Of the other top skaters in the field, only Andy Macdonald finally nailed his run after repeat attempts, even squeaking in an extra run after a lighting mishap at Staples Center interrupted his 2nd run: even with solid final run that included a kickflip indy, a backflip rollout, and a huge frontside rodeo 540, Mac's run was only good enough for 4th place.

Look for more from Dias: He's high in the rankings for the overall Dew Tour title, he's the only guy in Vert right now with a solid competition-ready 900 under his belt, and he's on his way to Portland in two weeks. His own hype machine is just kicking into gear.

– Colin Bane