Jamie Bestwick said he still wasn’t feeling too great after a hard slam at X Games two weeks ago, and Steven McCann just got back from six weeks of not riding after a broken ankle he suffered at the Chicago Dew Tour two months ago. However, even though these guys may not have been at their full potential this evening, they both found themselves in very familiar spots on the podium along with Chad Kagy.
Chad Kagy, Jamie Bestwick, & Steven McCann. Photo by Fat.
Simon Tabron crashed during practice, bending his handlebars with his stomach and possibly breaking some fingers, so needless to say he opted not to ride in the finals today, but hopefully we’ll see him next month in Salt Lake City at the next top of the Dew Tour.
Coco Zurita was riding as smooth and stylish as ever with super high tables, double whips, and flairs. He did show a bit of frustration towards the end of his second run, but I’m not sure what that was from. Maybe he was looking for more in his run?
Kevin Robinson started out riding awesome, but a crash on a 540 late in his first run kept him towards the bottom of the list tonight. Before the crash though he did an awesome alley-oop 540, a huge superman, and a switch-hander to no-handed flair—a trick I’ve never seen before.
Dennis McCoy’s first run was a solid one with back to back 540s (one of which had a barspin thrown in), big tables and can-cans, and a flair. His second run ended with a crash on a 900 attempt. If he would have pulled the 900, he probably would have placed a bit higher. There is always a huge amount of respect in the arena when DMC rides, and the crowd goes nuts when they see a 42 year old spin a 900.
Vince Byron rode great tonight and went even higher and landed even more smooth than he did in qualifying. In his runs he pulled no-handed flairs, tailwhip 540s, and combo tricks like an x-up to turndown and a barspin to tailwhip.
Jimmy Walker narrowly got bumped down by Zack Warden after he had a fluid run filled with flair and 540 variations and smooth, carving style tricks. I feel like Jimmy’s riding is very classic; much like Chris Doyle in the dirt contest. He’s always incredible to watch and all of his tricks are executed perfectly, but he just doesn’t have the wild bangers that make his contest runs stand out high above the others.
Zack Warden still has yet to pull a 540 in a contest and his friends from Woodward get on him about it, but tonight he did pull another dream run of his with a bar to whip, bikeflip, and double whip all in the same run, lacing it with other smooth tricks like no-handers, tiregrabs, and x-ups.
Steven McCann has obviously been riding with Jamie Bestwick a lot. He’s acquiring a lot of the same style, height, and tricks as Bestwick, which is a real treat to see. As I said before, Steven broke his ankle in Chicago at the last stop of the Dew Tour so I didn’t even think he was going to ride today, but he came out swinging hard, and lucky for him, landing smooth. He had super high tables and no-handers along with a turndown flair, and a double whip.
Chad Kagy’s run was absolutely bonkers. He started out with a flair whip straight from the drop in, and went right into another flair. Then he had big style tricks thrown all in there with a barspin flair before ending with another flair whip. He even tried a flair double whip at the end of his first run, but couldn’t quite stick the landing.
What can I say about Jamie Bestwick that you don’t already know? He’s in a league of his own, and is completely untouchable right now. His run was as flawless as you’d expect (just look at his score compared to the others), and just as fun to watch as you could imagine. Look for the video of his full run to see for yourself…
2009 Portland Dew Tour Vert Final Results
1. Jamie Bestwick – 93.75
2. Chad Kagy – 92.00
3. Steven McCann – 90.25
4. Zack Warden – 88.88
5. Jimmy Walker – 88.75
6. Vince Byron – 88.75
7. Dennis McCoy – 87.50
8. Kevin Robinson – 87.00
9. Coco Zurita – 85.50
10. Simon Tabron – Did Not Ride
Photos by Fat.
TAGS: 2009 Portland Dew Tour, Jamie Bestwick, Vert Finals
