BMX riders Daniel Dhers and Jamie Bestwick have won just about every contest they’ve entered this season, so it’s no surprise to find the two dominating at one of the year’s final events, the LG Action Sports World Championships.

In the BMX Street finals, Daniel Dhers followed up his Dew Cup and X Games wins with another top finish, edging Rob Darden (who finished second) and Dennis Enarson (bronze winner) to capture the gold.  Both of Dhers’ run were higher than Darden and Enarson, who actually tied with a 90.00 in second.  The tie-breaker went to Darden thanks to his second score being higher.  Dhers took home $30K for the win.

“I always want to do a good first run.  But tonight I realized it’s been a long time since I’ve done two good runs, so I went out there to do it, and it worked.”  Dhers said after the contest.

Jamie Bestwick also continued his winning ways in BMX Vert, following up his Dew Cup and X Games win with a gold, followed by Chad Kagy in second and Simon Tabron in third — his usual set of podium mates.

“I just enjoy riding bikes,” Bestwick said after of his success this season.  “I gave up everything – my job, my family, my country – to come here and compete, and that’s what drives me to keep on pushing.”

For more about the event, check out the official site.  You can also keep reading for the official release from Saturday that includes inline and skate vert prelim results.

BESTWICK, DHERS, DOWNING AND MORALES WIN GOLD AT LG ACTION SPORTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Stage is set for a Repeat in Skateboard Vert

SEATTLE, Wash. (November 1, 2008) – Day two of the LG Action Sports World Championships brought the pros of BMX Vert, BMX Street, Men’s and Women’s Inline Street Skating, as well as Skateboard Vert to the fans and made them jump to their feet in celebration as the athletes laid down some of the most spectacular runs of the season. The year’s most dominant stars in BMX Vert and BMX Street, Jamie Bestwick (Darby, England) and Daniel Dhers (Caracas, Venezuela) respectively, continued their winning ways in 2008 and captured the gold medal in their disciplines, as Jenna Downing (Barnsley, England) and Franky Morales (Miami Beach, Fla.), took the gold in Inline Skating Street.  Skateboard Vert also saw the usual suspects finish the Prelims at the top of the heap, with Pierre-Luc Gagnon (Montreal, Canada) leading the way.

The afternoon began with the Skateboard Vert Prelims and a 16-man field that needed to be whittled to eight for the Sunday afternoon Finals.  The tops stars were in play, giving their best in an attempt to advance to the Finals.  By the round’s end, Gagnon, Sandro Dias (Santo Andre, Brazil), Bucky Lasek (Baltimore, Maryland), Danny Mayer (Omaha, Nebraska), Alex Perelson (San Diego, Calif.), Andy Macdonald (San Diego, Calif.), Buster Halterman (Wellsville, Penn.) and Marcelo Bastos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) had advanced.  On what can only be characterized as a ‘steam roll’, Gagnon comes in as the event’s defending champion and is looking to cap the season with a second consecutive LG World Champion title.

Daniel Dhers has also been rolling through all of 2008 in the Gold medal position and continued to do so today, decisively winning the BMX Street contest with two runs that far exceeded the competition.  He pushed himself to the end, even bettering his first round score with his second run.

“I always want to do a good first run.  But tonight I realized it’s been a long time since I’ve done two good runs, so I went out there to do it, and it worked.”

The Silver and Bronze medals went to Rob Darden (Greenville, NC) and Dennis Enarson (San Diego, Calif.) in a tiebreaker.  Both men produced 90.00 point runs, but Darden turned in an 89.50 point first run, which bested Enarson’s additional run by one point, thereby breaking the tie and securing him second place.

Clearly another highlight of the evening was Jamie Bestwick’s (Darby, England) winning performance in the BMX Vert contest.  Bestwick rode to his 5th LG World Championship title in six years.  He’s captured the BMX Vert Gold at every LG World Championships he’s attended, missing out on the title in 2006, the only year he did not participate.  He soared above the ramp tonight in what was described by announcers as “BMX insanity”, winning the contest with his first run.

“It feels great,” said Bestwick, describing his success.  “This Seattle stop is a great one for the ASA [Entertainment] Action Sports World Tour.  This event is a lot of fun.  There’s a lot of nerves beforehand and everyone is on edge, but it brings out the best in us.”

Bestwick’s domination in BMX has been virtually complete in 2008 with him capturing nearly every major title this year.  When asked what he attributes it to, he commented, “I just enjoy riding bikes.  I gave up everything – my job, my family, my country – to come here and compete, and that’s what drives me to keep on pushing.”

The Silver medal in BMX Vert went to crowd-pleaser Chad Kagy (Gilroy, Calif.), and Simon Tabron (Newquay, England) received the Bronze medal.

The Inline Skating Street competitions were a definite treat for fans, thrilling the crowds with the creativity and daring of the athletes’ skill and talent.  Fallon Heffernan (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.), entered the women’s competition as the leader from Friday’s Prelims, but Jenna Downing landed every trick she attempted in the Finals and solidly rode away with the Gold medal.  Heffernan came in second; Fabiola da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) came in third.

“Unbelievable” best describes the men’s Inline Skating Street competition where the athletes pushed the limits of not only themselves, but also the course boundaries.  Nineteen year-old David Sizemore (Atlanta, Georgia) back-flipped off the hitching posts and Franky Morales used the neighboring Vert ramp to jump into the Street course, while performing a 540 spin before landing smoothly to the crowds’ cheers in amazement.  Not to be outdone, Stephane Alfano (Frejus, France) also launched himself from the Vert ramp, landing a 540 spin as well after two attempts.  With just a couple of minutes left to the session, Morales once again jumped from the Vert ramp, spinning through a 900, but failed to execute a successful landing.  Nevertheless, after the judges tallied the scores in what was one of the toughest decisions of the evening, Morales came out the winner.

“I was just trying to win,” said Morales when asked how he came up with jumping from the Vert ramp.  “I was trying to do something big, and I saw the ramp – it’s what’s big in here – and I said, ‘That’s it.’”  The Silver medal went to Alfano, and Sizemore accepted the Bronze.
The LG Action Sports World Championships resumes Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. featuring a day of skateboarding contests.  Skateboard Street Prelims start at 2:00 p.m., followed by Skateboard Vert Finals and Skateboard Street Finals thereafter. Hoobastank will entertain the crowd to cap the weekend’s activities.

The LG Action Sports World Championships is an ASA Entertainment production.

Skateboard Vert Prelims Results:
1) Pierre-Luc Gagnon (Montreal, Canada)
2) Sandro Dias (Santo Andre, Brazil)
3) Bucky Lasek (Baltimore, Maryland)
4) Danny Mayer (Omaha, Nebraska)
5) Alex Perelson (San Diego, Calif.)
6) Andy Macdonald (San Diego, Calif.)
7) Buster Halterman (Wellsville, Penn.)
Marcelo Bastos (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
9) Adam Taylor (Cocoa Beach, Fla.)
10) Jean Postec (Annecy, France)
11) Anthony Furlong (Tampa, Fla.)
12) Neal Hendrix (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
13) Josh Stafford (San Diego, Calif.)
14) Elliot Sloan (New York, New York)
15) Joe Gratzer (Pocatello, Idaho)
16) Lincoln Ueda (Sao Paulo, Brazil)

BMX Vert Finals Results:
1) Jamie Bestwick (Darby, England)
2) Chad Kagy (Gilroy, Calif.)
3) Simon Tabron (Newquay, England)
4) Steven McCann (Melbourne, Australia)
5) Jimmy Walker (Gilberts, Illinois)
6) Francisco Zurita (Santiago, Chile)
7) Zack Warden (Ofallon, Illinois)
John Parker (State College, Penn.)
9) Jay Eggleston (Denver, Colo.)
10) Koji Kraft (Addison, Illinois)
11) Austin Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.)
12) Jorge Jovel (Tela, Honduras)
13) Ben Snowden (Hornell, New York)

BMX Street Finals Results:
1) Daniel Dhers (Caracas, Venezuela)
2) Rob Darden (Greenville, NC)
3) Dennis Enarson (San Diego, Calif.)
4) Allan Cooke (Greenville, NC)
5) Anthony Napolitan (Youngstown, Ohio)
6) Gary Young (San Diego, Calif.)
7) Kevin Kiraly (Livermore, Calif.)
Morgan Wade (Tyler, Texas)

Inline Street Finals Results:
1) Franky Morales (Miami, Fla.)
2) Stephane Alfano (Frejus, France)
3) David Sizemore (Atlanta, Georgia)
4) Brian Aragon (Brighton, Colo.)
5) Chaz Sands (Glascow, Scotland)
6) Brian Shima (Redwood City, Calif.)

Women’s Inline Street Finals Results:
1) Jenna Downing (Barnsley, England)
2) Fallon Heffernan (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.)
3) Fabiola da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
4) Chynna Weierstall (Roseville, MI).

Check out the video highlights below…

Three times this season Chad Kagy and Jamie Bestwick have battled at every AST Dew Tour stop this season and Friday’s BMX Vert finals at the Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake City was no different.  Kagy fought Bestwick trick for trick, and after their final runs the two were actually tied with a 93.00.  However, for the second time this season Bestwick earned the tie-breaker and the title, giving him a strong edge in the Dew Cup standings going into next month’s PlayStation Pro in Orlando.

Bestwick has a 30 point edge over Kagy in the standings, meaning not only does Kagy has to win, but Bestwick needs to finish no better than fifth (if he finishes fourth with a Kagy win, the two would be tied and Bestwick would take the tie-breaker).  Only once in his AST Dew Tour career has Bestwick finished that low when competing.

Adding to the drama is a lingering back injury Bestwick has, which reared its head at the end of the contest when the 37-year-old rider collapsed after starting to walk off the ramp.  He was attended to by medical personnel (see the pics below) and received treatment backstage before coming out to accept his award with an icepack on his back.  In addition to his back injury he told Lat34 he was riding with a meniscus tear in his knee.

Ryan Sheckler talks with Jamie as he waits for medical personnel. | cr. Wina Sturgeon

Check out the full results below.

BMX Vert Final Results – Toyota Challenge
September 12, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – Bestwick, Jamie – 93.00
2nd – Kagy, Chad – 93.00
3rd – Tabron, Simon – 92.17
4th – Walker, Jimmy – 91.50
5th – McCann, Steven – 91.33
6th – Warden, Zack – 90.33
7th – McCoy, Dennis – 89.33
8th – Zurita, Francisco – 88.50
9th – Coleman, Austin – 88.33
10th – Eggleston, Jay – 86.83

AST Dew Tour: Dew Cup Current Standings
BMX Vert Points

1. Jamie Bestwick, 385
2. Chad Kagy, 355
3. Simon Tabron, 290
4. Steven McCann, 276
5. Dennis McCoy, 240
6. Jimmy Walker, 237
7. Zackery Warden, 203
8. Jay Eggleston, 196
9. John Parker, 183
10. Austin Coleman, 171

BMX Vert Prelim Results – Toyota Challenge
September 11, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – Walker, Jimmy – 91.17
2nd – McCann, Steven – 90.17
3rd – McCoy, Dennis – 90.00
4th – Warden, Zack – 89.17
5th – Coleman, Austin – 89.00
6th – Eggleston, Jay – 88.33
7th – Zurita, Francisco – 87.67
8th – Parker, John – 87.00
9th – Mancuso, Mike – 86.83
10th – Byron, Vince – 86.00
11th – Robinson, Kevin – 85.83
12th – Kraft, Koji – 85.67
13th – Jovel, Jorge – 84.33
14th – Williams, Danny – 83.67
15th – Snowden, Ben – 82.00
16th – McElhinney, Keith – 75.67

What does that mean exactly?  Good question.  I thought at first it meant that Ryan was the new spokesperson from Wendy’s Restaurants and that he would overtake the red headed girl as their spokesperson.  But actually the contest starts with you, the fans.  Voting, which began August 25th at the AST Dew Tour Portland Invitational.  Fans could view videos on AST.com where they would text which clip was their favorite.  Here were the other nominees…

- Ryan Guettler (BMX Dirt), pulled an impressive tailwhip Superman seat grab out of his bag of tricks during Finals. He’s currently ranked in the top 10 for season point’s standings. 

- Chad Kagy (BMX Vert), completed a flatspin 540 double tailwhip, which helped him take the win from defending Dew Cup champion Jamie Bestwick.

- Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert), pulled a stylish boneless rodeo frontside 540, and although Bob Burquist took the win, Lasek still holds the lead in the Race for the Cup.

- Daniel Dhers (BMX Park), marked a Dew Tour milestone when he completed the first 720 Can Can in AST competition. This trick helped him secure his third win of the season.

Sheckler wins $5,000, a PLAYSTATION®3 and a library of games to reward his skills.  Online polls open on the Monday following each event.

Chad Kagy has been in Jamie Bestwick’s shadow for the last two AST Dew Tour events and it was only a matter of time before he would get an edge.  That happened Saturday as Kagy came through with a huge final run to score a 95.00, edging Bestwick’s 94.17 (Bestwick fell on his final run).  It’s only the second time Bestwick has lost to Kagy on the AST Tour (not including the ’07 Right Guard Open where both were beaten).   Last month, it was only thanks to a tie-breaker that Bestwick had the edge. Steve McCann continued his strong performances on the vert ramp, ending up in third

“Flair double whip was my risky starting move.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Kagy said of the trick that helped secure him the win.

Bestwick’s quest for a fourth AST Dew Cup continue despite the loss, as he holds a 15-point lead over Kagy with two events left to go.

Here are the final results.

BMX Vert Final Results – Wendy’s Invitational
August 23, 2008 – Portland, OR

1st – Kagy, Chad – 95.00
2nd – Bestwick, Jamie – 94.17
3rd – McCann, Steven – 91.50
4th – Tabron, Simon – 90.17
5th – Walker, Jimmy – 90.17
6th – McCoy, Dennis – 89.67
7th – Eggleston, Jay – 88.83
8th – Kraft, Koji – 88.33
9th – Warden, Zack – 87.67
10th – Parker, John – 86.50

AST Dew Tour: Dew Cup Current Standings
BMX Vert Points

1. Jamie Bestwick, 285
2. Chad Kagy, 270
3. Simon Tabron, 215
4. Steven McCann, 211
5. Dennis McCoy, 183
6. Jimmy Walker, 167
7. Jay Eggleston, 151
8. John Parker, 143
9. Zackery Warden, 142
10. Kevin Robinson, 131

cr. Pete Demos/ESPN Images/Shazamm

Jamie Bestwick didn’t have much luck trying out the new Superpark course yesterday when he failed to make the finals.  Saturday it looked like all was right with the world as returned to his true home, the vert ramp, and dominated the semifinals with a huge score on his way to the five-man final.The format of the final had each rider getting a 30-second run followed by a 10-minute session in which each athlete got 30 seconds or were out with a fall.  Bestwick had a hard slam in his first session run and it didn’t look like he might be able to continue.  But he did, and in the last 45 seconds of the session he dropped in needing a strong score to pass Chad Kagy for the gold.  Was there ever any doubt?

Kagy, fresh off his Big Air victory on Friday, ended up with the silver medal while Steve McCann won his first Vert medal at the Games by coming in third with the bronze.

Bestwick wasn’t the only rider to have a big slam — Simon tabron was knocked out in his semi heat and had to leave the contest, though he was walking around by the end of the day.

Keep reading for more about the finals and for full results.

Bestwick’s persistence created a crowd uproar. “I felt good and was able to string together some great tricks,” the Brit phenom stated. Some of Bestwick’s intense combinations included an alley-oop downside, huge flairs and whips, and a series of impressive 540s.

Chad Kagy proved that last night’s win in BMX Freestyle Big Air was no mistake as he brought his technical tricks to the Vert ramp today. Kagy executed a difficult flair double whip, the first he’s stuck all year, to help land him in the second place position.

“You know you gotta step it up every year at the X Games or else you get left behind,” Kagy said. X Games 14 is Kagy’s 10th X Games appearance.

Following close behind in third place was Australia’s pride and joy, Steve McCann. McCann didn’t start competing in Vert until 2007 but has quickly become a rising threat.

“It’s my first Vert medal ever. What could be better than doing it at the X Games?” McCann said. McCann landed an outstanding bar-spin tail whip as well as an alley-oop tail whip to secure the bronze.

BMX FREESTYLE VERT FINAL RESULTS
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at The Home Center in Carson, Calf. on Saturday, August 2, 2008. (Final Standings)

Name / Hometown  / Score

1. Jamie Bestwick / Derbyshire, Great Britain / 111.00
2. Chad Kagy / Gilroy, Calif. / 105.00
3. Steve McCann / Melbourne, Australia / 103.00
4. Dennis McCoy / Kansas City, Mo. / 90.00
5. Jimmy Walker / Chicago, Ill. / 78.00
6. Kevin Robinson / East Providence, R.I. / 84.00
7. Coco Zurita / Santiago, Chile / 83.00
8. Zack Warden / St. Louis, Mo. / 82.00
9. Jay Eggleston / Denver, Colo. / 75.00
10. Simon Tabron / Newquay, Great Britain / 26.00

Robinson had the edge through the first two of the scheduled four runs but then Dave Mirra came through with a huge 93.33 score after landing a 360 no-handed backflip over the 50-foot gap followed by a high flair.  Moments later, Kagy pulled ahead with a 94.33 thanks to a flipwhip over the 70-footer and a flatspin 540 tailwhip on the quarterpipe.  Similar to the battle between Danny Way and Bob Burnquist the night before, it came down to the final run.

Mirra went first, pulling another no-handed 360 backflip over the 70 foot gap followed by a flair whip on the quarterpipe.  The 94.66 looked strong until Kagy uncorked a back flip tail whip followed by a boosted flat whip on the quarterpipe.  The 96.00 set Staples on fire and when Kevin Robinson tried his final run a few minutes later, the end was already set.

Check out the official release below as well as all the results (there were four more riders, after all).

Chad Kagy and Dave Mirra Battle for the BMX Big Air Gold

Kagy Goes Deep into his Bag of Tricks to Take First
LOS ANGELES- There was no holding back from the competitors in tonight’s BMX Big Air final as the riders progressively stepped up the difficulty and height after each run and pushed each other’s limits.

It all came down to the wire during the final of four runs. Mirra was holding the top position with a score of 94.66 from a no-handed 360 backflip over the 70 foot gap to a lofty, flair whip on the quarterpipe, but was knocked down to second place when Kagy dropped into the ramp for his final run just moments later.

All eyes in the stadium turned to Kagy as he launched off the gap jump into a back flip tail whip and then layed out a boosted flat whip on the quarterpipe, earning a score of 96.00 and clenching the gold medal.

Kagy may have won the gold, but his respect went to Mirra. “Mirra surprised the heck out of me. Good job, Dave. He was motivated to do this the right way and it pushed me.”

Trailing in third place behind Kagy and Mirra was former two-time BMX Big Air Champion Kevin Robinson who put up a good fight with a solid no-handed 360 into a no-handed 540 on the quarterpipe.

“I can go home happy with a bronze because I landed my new tricks in my second run,” said previous champion, Robinson. “The double flair in my last run didn’t work, but I’m so happy for Chad for his well deserved win tonight.”

Catch more BMX excitement tomorrow during the BMX Freestyle SuperPark and Vert starting tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT.

BMX FREESTYLE BIG AIR FINAL RESULTS
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calf. on Friday, August 1, 2008. (Final Standings)

Rank  – Name  – Run 1  – Run 2  – Run 3  – Run 4  – Best Run
1. Chad Kagy  – 83.00  – 83.00 – 94.33 – 96.00: 96.00
2. Dave Mirra  – 80.66 – 90.33 – 93.33 – 94.66: 94.66
3. Kevin Robinson  – 84.33 – 91.00 – 83.66 – 83.00: 91.00
4. Steve McCann  – 83.33 – 82.33 – 90.00 – 81.00: 90.00
5. Allan Cooke  – 85.33 – 87.33 – 80.66 – 89.00: 89.00
6. Morgan Wade  – 83.66  – 83.00 – 82.66 – 86.66: 86.66
7. Anthony Napolitan  – 85.00 – 83.33 – 80.66 – 83.33: 85.00

Check out Fat BMX for coverage of all the action.

Final Results:
1. Chad Kagy
2. Steve McCann
3. Ben Snowden
4. Joe Rich
5. Austin Coleman
6. Jay Eggleston
7. Jimmy Walker
8. Francisco Zurita
9. Koji Kraft
10. Tom Stober

High Air:
1. Steve McCann
2. Jay Eggleston
3. Chad Kagy

Annual Manual:
1. Chad Kagy
2. Dave Voelker
3. Ben Snowden

Style Cat award:
Joe Rich

Hardest Trick award:
Austin Coleman, alleyoop downside double tailwhip air

Kagy fell while attempting a double whip flair and Bestwick came through with a clean run that included a downside tailwhip X up.  That was enough.  The score didn’t best his earlier one but it was enough of a tiebreaker for Bestwick to win his second AST Dew Tour contest in a row.  At last year’s season-ending PlayStation Pro the situation was reversed when Kagy ended up with the tiebreaker and the win and Bestwick took second.  But in both cases one thing stayed the same:  Steve McCann finished in third.

“I was just keeping the height and didn’t stop tricking,” Bestwick said. “I tried to capitalize on their mistakes. That was right to the end tonight. It was a really awesome final.”

“I wished Chad had landed that double whip flair. There are three stops left and I know everyone’s gunning for me.”

Check out the full results below and more at AST.com.

BMX Vert Finals — 2008 Right Guard Open
July 19, 2008 — Cleveland, OH

1st – Bestwick, Jamie – 94.50
2nd – Kagy, Chad – 94.50
3rd – McCann, Steven – 93.33
4th – Tabron, Simon – 91.83
5th – McCoy, Dennis – 91.33
6th – Robinson, Kevin – 91.17
7th – Warden, Zack – 90.17
8th – Walker, Jimmy – 90.00
9th – Eggleston, Jay – 86.17
10th – Parker, John – DNS