Aussie Robbie Maddison finished second in the contest (third overall) while Metal Mulisha rider Jeremy Lusk crashed twice on his way to a fourth-place finish (same overall).

There was also a Super Session contest featuring four teams of three riders each battling it out in Step Up, Speed & Style, Quarterpipe Jam and Classic FMX.  Ronnie Renner’s “Team Renner” finished in first, featuring Renner, Travis Pastrana (competing in his only contest of the series) and Thomas Pages.  Pages was riding in place of Andre Villa, who broke his leg during practice on Friday.

The contest took place in the historic Stadion X-Lecia in Warsaw, Poland, with 35,000 fans on hand.  The stadium is scheduled to be demolished and replaced by a new arena.

For more about the contest check out the official X-Fighters site.

Mathieu Rebeaud in Poland | cr.Vitek Ludvik / red bull photo files

Dany Torres cr. Flo Hagen / Red Bull Photo Files

We got this update from our friends at Red Bull.  Spanish rider Dany Torres, who was third in the overall rankings after two stops in the five-stop tour, will miss the USA stop in Texas today after suffering an injury.  As for what happened, well…  you know what we know.

Dany Torres injured, out of Red Bull X-Fighters Texas

Spanish rider Dany Torres crashed while practicing for Red Bull X-Fighters Texas this morning during practice. He was taken to a local hospital for ankle and wrist injuries, treated and released. However, he will not compete in the Red Bull X-Fighters Texas event tomorrow night.

For more event information, please visit www.redbullxfighters.com.

Watch Red Bull X-Fighters. On American soil for the first time, June 14th.:
Event broadcast on ABC, Sunday, June 22 at 3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT

FMX had the most interesting wild card picks, with Dany Torres, a Spainard who has done well on the X-Fighters tour, joining the tour as a rookie. Robbie Maddison, who competed in 2006 on the tour, will make a triumphant return after setting a world record earlier this year. The final wildcard, Mathieu Rebeaud, has been on the tour since 2005.

Keep reading for all the pre-qualified athletes and the full press release.

AST ANNOUNCES PRE-QUALIFIED ATHLETES FOR
2008 AST DEW TOUR

Roster of Pre-Qualified Athletes Expected to Compete at Panasonic Open Include Baltimore’s Bucky Lasek and Three-Time Dew Cup Winners
Ryan Sheckler and Jamie Bestwick
NEW YORK – June 10, 2008 – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, today announced the roster of athletes that are pre-qualified for the 2008 AST Dew Tour. The Panasonic Open kicks off in Baltimore, June 19-22 at Camden Yards Sports Complex.

Athletes are pre-qualified based on their rankings at the end of the 2007 AST Dew Tour season. Additionally 3-4 wild cards per discipline have been selected. Athletes who are not pre-qualified may compete as Open Qualifiers at the Panasonic Open to earn a spot in the preliminary rounds. The full list of pre-qualified athletes is as follows:

Skateboard Park
Ryan Sheckler
Greg Lutzka
Rodolfo Ramos
Austen Seaholm
Carlos de Andrade
Fabrizo Santos
Kurtis Colamonico
Tulio de Oliviera
Danny Fuenzalida
Mike Peterson
Danilo do Rosario
Jason Barr
Mathieu Therres
Rodil Araujo Jr
Jereme Rogers
*Chaz Ortiz
*Paul Rodriguez
*Chad Fernandez

Skateboard Vert
Shaun White
Bucky Lasek
Pierre-Luc Gagnon
Bob Burnquist
Andy Macdonald
Rune Glifberg
Jean Postec
Alex Perelson
Danny Mayer
Anthony Furlong
*Adam Taylor
*Rob Lorifice
*Sandro Dias

BMX Park
Daniel Dhers
Mike Spinner
Ryan Nyquist
Scotty Cranmer
Dave Mirra
Dennis Enarson
Allan Cooke
Steven McCann
Garrett Reynolds
Josh Harrington
Diogo Canina
Rob Darden
Kevin Kiraly
Alistair Whitton
Marcus Tooker
Craig Mast
Colin Mackay
Ryan Guettler
Gary Young
*Mike Laird
*Ben Wallace
*Dan Sieg
*Austin Coleman

BMX Vert
Jamie Bestwick
Simon Tabron
Steven McCann
Chad Kagy
Jimmy Walker
Kevin Robinson
Jay Eggleston
Dennis McCoy
John Parker
Zack Warden
*Francisco Zurita
*Koji Kraft
*Austin Coleman

BMX Dirt
Ryan Nyquist
Cameron White
Dennis Enarson
Luke Parslow
James Foster
Corey Bohan
Anthony Napolitan
Diogo Canina
TJ Ellis
Chris Doyle
Ryan Guettler
Colin Mackay
Allan Cooke
Joey Marks
*Steven McCann
*Morgan Wade
*Rob Darden
*Chris Gerber

FMX
Nate Adams
Adam Jones
Mike Mason
Jeremy Lusk
Todd Potter
Jeremy Stenberg
Wiley Fullmer
Myles Richmond
Tkayuki Hadashino
Beau Bamburg
*Robbie Maddison
*Mathieu Rebeaud
*Dany Torres

*Indicates wild cards
**All 2008 AST Dew Tour pre-qualified athletes are not guaranteed to compete at all five stops of the ’08 season

The complete 2008 AST Dew Tour schedule is as follows:

Event Date Location
Panasonic Open June 19-22 Baltimore, Md.-Camden Yards Sports Complex
Right Guard Open July 17-20 Cleveland, OH-North Coast Harbor
Wendy’s Invitational Aug. 21-24 Portland, Ore.-Rose Quarter
Toyota Challenge Sept. 11-14 Salt Lake City, UT-EnergySolutions Arena
PlayStation® Pro Oct. 16-19 Orlando, Fla.-Amway Arena

Stenberg was happy with his win though he acknowledged his ride didn’t go as planned.

“Unbelievably difficult. Some of the riders here were really afraid of the course. This victory means a great deal to me. I have never seen such a challenging course. One trick went completely wrong and I thought that it was all over, but Rebeaud made a mistake too.”

It’s hard to believe that it was only two years ago that Stenberg suffered a massive crash that shattered both his ankles and relegated him to a wheelchair for months.  He’s definitely returned to form and should be a big factor in this summer’s AST Tour and X Games.  He also had a strong showing at last month’s inaugural Moto X World Championships, taking second to Nate Adams in the Moto X Freestyle category.

In the overall X-Fighters rankings, Stenberg (155 pts.) now ranks second to Rebeaud (180 pts.), who won the first stop in Mexico City last month.  Dany Torres from Spain, who finished fourth on Saturday and second in Mexico, is third in the rankings with 135 pts.

A webcast of the action from Brazil will be available Tuesday, May 6, on the official X-Fighters site.  We’d post more photos from the event, but for some reason Red Bull hasn’t made many pictures of Monster-sponsored Stenberg available.  Yet, plenty of photos of the Red Bull-sponsored Rebeaud (including the haunting portrait after the jump) exist.  Hmmmm…

The next stop in the X-Fighters five-city tour is Ft. Worth, TX on June 14, followed by stops in Germany and Spain in July.

The official press release follows.

Samba on Two Wheels – Stenberg Grabs Win in Rio

Jeremy Stenberg (USA) soared to victory last Saturday 3rd of May, with a spectacular performance at the second event of Red Bull X-Fighters 2008. Mat Rebeaud from Switzerland had to settle for second place after a hard-fought final round, with Australian Robbie “Maddo” Maddison claiming third in the former capital city’s legendary Sambadrome. Andre Villa (NOR) remained unhurt after crashing out.

A total of nine kickers spread out along a 96-metre course proved a real challenge for the world’s FMX elite, a fact confirmed by winner Stenberg shortly after an emotional victory ceremony: “Unbelievably difficult. Some of the riders here were really afraid of the course. This victory means a great deal to me. I have never seen such a challenging course. One trick went completely wrong and I thought that it was all over, but Rebeaud made a mistake too.” Despite his disappointment, Swiss high flyer Rebeaud was stoic after the final: “That’s sport for you. I had a big mistake in the final and that probably cost me victory. But it could have been a lot worse. I’m glad I didn’t crash.”

A heavy fall by Andre Villa (NOR) at the quarter final stage brought the vibrant crowd to a hushed silence, but the Norwegian walked away unhurt. “I go to the gym five times a week and the muscles paid off today. I landed on my stomach, but I’ll be back on the bike,” commented Villa shortly after his fall.

Backflips, heelcrackers and superman seatgrabs were among the incredible tricks on show to a capacity crowd in the city’s legendary Sambadrome, where two large dirt jumps and a ‘six pack’ (three jumps in a row) catapulted the riders to dizzying heights.

The 30,000 FMX fans were on their feet as four local riders and eight members of the international FMX elite, including Aussie Robbie Maddison, fought it out for victory. “I can’t imagine it was even louder here during the Carnival in February,” beamed winner Stenberg after stealing the show.

After two rounds Mat Rebeaud (180 points) heads the overall riders’ classification, with a narrow lead of just 25 points over Jeremy Stenberg (155 points).

After Rio de Janeiro the Red Bull X-Fighters move stateside to Texas, USA. On July 14 the rodeo arena in Fort Worth will host the third of the tour’s five stops before the most breathtaking freestyle motocross series in the world returns to Europe with a stop in Wuppertal (GER) before the traditional grand finale in Madrid (ESP).

Final Results of Red Bull X-Fighters Rio de Janeiro:
1. Jeremy Stenberg (USA/Yamaha),
2. Mat Rebeaud (CH/KTM),
3. Robbie Maddison (AUS/Honda),
4. Dany Torres (ESP/KTM),
5. Andre Villa (NOR/Suzuki),
6. Eigo Sato (JPA/Yamaha),
7. Ronnie Faisst (USA/Honda),
8. Brice Izzo (FRA/Yamaha),
9. Gilmar Flores (BRA/Yamaha),
10. Gian Bergamini (BRA/Yamaha)

Mat Rebeaud at X-Fighters Rio.  cr. Balázs Gárdi /Red Bull Photo-Files

After winning, Rebeaud said, “I’m over the moon!” said Rebeaud. Yep, I guess people talk like that.

The next X-Fighters event takes place in Brazil on May 3.

The men’s podium – cr. Flo Hagen/Red Bull