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).

My favorite part was listening to TJ Lavin and Jamie Bestwick debate what people should have been scored or how a run went down.  Classic.  While you won’t hear that in the video below, you will get to see some highlights…

Corey Bohan, who came into the day third in the Dew Cup race, pushed hard and ended up second at the contest and second in the race after Luke Parslow, second in the Dew Cup standings, was unable to crack the top three.

Enarson won the contest thanks to two huge runs that gave him the top spot going into the third and final run.  White was in first after one run but stumbled on his second, opening the door for the 17-year old from San Diego to grab his second win on the tour.

White came close to taking the Dew Cup in 2007 but lost it to Ryan Nyquist after crashing on his final run.  This year, with the Dew Cup lead his going into Orlando, he had a comfortable lead and didn’t need to finish first to take home the overall honor which has a payout of $75K.

BMX Dirt Final Results – PlayStation Pro
October 18, 2008 – Orlando, FL
1. Dennis Enarson, La Mesa, Calif., 93.33*
2. Corey Bohan, Australia, 93.17
3. Cameron White, Australia, 93.09
4. Rob Darden, Greenville, N.C., 92.59
5. Chris Doyle, Pittsburgh, Penn., 92.42
6. Luke Parslow, Australia, 91.00
7. Nate Berkheimer, Las Vegas, 90.33
8. Ryan Guettler, Australia, 87.34
9. Anthony Napolitan, Youngstown, Ohio., 86.67
10. Ryan Nyquist, Los Gatos, Calif., 85.92
* Score is average of best two out of three runs

Ryan Guettler | cr. AST

With Daniel Dhers, Mike Spinner and Ryan Nyquist on the sidelines (having gotten a bye to the finals), the BMX Park prelims weren’t going to be the same as in years past.  The big surprise this year was Seth Klinger, who qualified through the Open qualifiers on Wednesday.

Klinger threw down aa double tailwhip 360 and a superman seatgrab 360 over the box and found himself placing second right behind Ryan Guettler, whose clean 1080 helped set him up in first.  Third place went to Dennis Enarson, who made his mark in ’07 and Morgan Wade took fourth.

While Klinger’s second-place appearance was surprising, more amazing was the inability of Dave Mirra and Garrett Reynolds to make the cut, finishing outside the running in 10th and 11th place (only the top nine advanced to the finals).

The finals will be taking place on Sunday from 4:30- 6 p.m. ET but unfortunately what normally is one of the most exciting events of the AST Dew Tour won’t be televised this time around.  But you can read here about what happened.

Here’s the lineup for Sunday’s final (in order)

12. Ben Wallace
11. Rob Darden
10. Marcus Tooker
9. Steven McCann
8. Craig Mast
7. Morgan Wade
6. Dennis Enarson
5. Seth Klinger
4. Ryan Guettler
3. Ryan Nyquist
2. Mike Spinner
1. Daniel Dhers

BMX Park Prelims – 2008 Panasonic Open
June 21, 2008 / Baltimore, MD
(top nine advance)

1st – Guettler, Ryan – 91.67
2nd – Klinger, Seth – 90.50
3rd – Enarson, Dennis – 90.17
4th – Wade, Morgan – 90.17
5th – Mast, Craig – 90.00
6th – McCann, Steven – 89.33
7th – Tooker, Marcus – 89.17
8th – Darden, Rob – 88.83
9th – Wallace, Ben – 88.50
—————————————-
10th – Reynolds, Garrett – 88.00
11th – Mirra, Dave – 87.67
12th – Cooke, Allan – 87.33
13th – Whitton, Alistair – 87.00
14th – Toohey, Jaie – 81.33
15th – Napolitan, Anthony – 86.67
16th – Coleman, Austin – 86.67
17th – Foster, James – 86.33
18th – Dosch, Brandon – 86.33
19th – Barbero, Alessandro – 86.33
20th – Harrington, Josh – 86.17
21st – Bezanson, Drew – 86.00
22nd – Mackay, Colin – 86.00
23rd – Wirch, Scott – 85.67
24th – Hunt, Brian – 85.67
25th – Young, Gary – 85.50
26th – Kiraly, Kevin – 85
27th – Canina, Diogo – 85
28th – Laird, Mike – 84.33
29th – Sieg, Dan – 80.33
30th – Sexton, Sean – 77.67
31st – Kraft, Koji – 75.67
32nd – Smith, Jeremiah – 70

We previously told you about this summer’s Action Sports World Tour coming to Southern California.  ASA Entertainment, which runs the tour, has announced that the Big-Air Triple Jump will be part of the event coming to the 2008 Orange County Fair in July.

The twist on BMX Dirt/Box Jumping combines those sports with a roll-in mini-mega ramp and a version of the event was part of the tour’s Phoenix stop in 2007 (that’s pictured above).  Dennis Enarson won that event and would be a good bet to repeat in Costa Mesa, which is close to his San Diego-area home.

Check out the full release below.

Action Sports World Tour Adds Thrills to the 2008 Orange County Fair Line-up
ASA Entertainment presents Big-Air BMX Triples July 29-31 in Costa Mesa
LOS ANGELES – The 2008 Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa,California will enjoy three days of the best in action sports entertainment when ASA Entertainment’s Big-Air BMX Triples event, jumps into action from July 29-31 during the final week of this year’s OC Fair activities.  At 8:15 p.m. each night, ASA Entertainment (ASA), the global leader in action sports event and television production, brings the excitement of BMX bike riding to the OC Fair’s Action Sports Arena.

The Big-Air Triple Jump is a new element in BMX competition that challenges riders to start from a 24-foot high ramp riding into three deep valleys and over three narrow platforms.  This design allows the riders to grab ‘big air’ and perform three tricks in succession while trekking across a 165-foot long wooden course.   This spin on BMX riding combines the best in BMX Box Jumping and Dirt Jumping with a Mini-Mega Ramp, and was debuted with great success at the 2007 Action Sports World Tour stop in Phoenix.

“We’re excited to bring the Big-Air BMX Triples event to the OC Fair this year.  This creative new event concept was introduced to the industry last year and has been wildly popular ever since,” said Rick Bratman, CEO of ASA Entertainment. “ASA Entertainment wants to keep pushing the envelope in action sports, bringing fans not only the best events in the industry, but also challenging our athletes to test the limits of their creativity and progression.  Southern California fans are the ultimate aficionados of action sports entertainment and will enjoy this show for all its high-octane thrills and spills.”

The format is simple.  On Tuesday, July 29th, 12 professional riders will compete to determine the top six men of the night.  The same format will take place on Wednesday night with 12 new competitors.  On Thursday the top six men from each night will compete in a head-to-head battle for the event title.   The winner will also qualify for ASA’s LG Action Sports World Championships taking place from November 7-9 later this year.

General admission seats for the Big-Air BMX Triples event are free to all OC Fair attendees and reserved seats also are available now for only $12.50 (includes Fair admission) via all Ticketmaster outlets and ticketmaster.com.

For more information on ASA Entertainment’s Big-Air BMX Triples event at the OC Fair, go to ocfair.com.  Visit actionsportstour.com for ASA Action Sports World Tour updates.

Last year atheltes like Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Simon Tabron dominated the event, with additional wins by Dennis Enarson, Morgan Wade and others.

Check out the schedule below along with the full press release following.

2008 Action Sports World Tour Schedule

• July 25–27 – S3 Supergirl Jam – Huntington Beach, CA (HB Pier)
• July 29-31 – Action Sports World Tour – Costa Mesa, CA (OC Fairgrounds)
• September 27 – LG World Championships of Freestyle Motocross – Pomona, CA (Fairplex Park)
• Oct. 3-4 – Action Sports World Tour – Cincinnati, OH (Bank of Kentucky Center)
• November 7-9 – LG Action Sports World Championships – Dallas, TX (Reunion Arena)

And here’s a few links to our coverage from ’07:

• Glendale, AZ Stop – PLG, Tabron and Enarson Win
• San Diego, CA Stop – Vert Finals Photo Gallery
• Pomona, CA Stop – Twitch Wins FMX Championships
• Dallas, TX Stop – Skate Vert Finals
• Dallas, TX Stop – BMX Street Finals

ASA Entertainment Announces its 2008 Action Sports World Tour Event Schedule
The Country’s Longest-running Action Sports Tour Returns for its 12th Year
LOS ANGELES (May 15, 2008) — ASA Entertainment (ASA), the country’s largest action sports event, television and content production company, is excited to announce its 2008 Action Sports World Tour events.  From July to November action sports fans throughout the U.S. can experience the world’s top professional skateboarders, freestyle BMXers, inline skaters, snowboarders and freestyle motocross superstars during a series of five major competitions in a quest for the ultimate title, the LG Action Sports World Championships.

Huntington Beach, Calif. is the first stop on the Tour where more than 100,000 people are expected to watch the top female pro skateboarders, surfers, inline skaters and snowboarders compete at the S3 Supergirl Jam from July 25–27.  Part of this one-of-a-kind mega-competition includes the construction of a 28’ high snowboarding mountain with 30,000 pounds of snow pumped onto the beach at the world-famous Huntington Beach Pier.

Costa Mesa, Calif. hosts the first stop for the men from July 29-31, at the Orange County Fairgrounds. During three action-packed days, Southern California fans can enjoy a completely unique pro BMX competition that combines the best in BMX Box Jumping and Dirt Jumping with the Mini-Mega Ramp in an event called Big-Air BMX Triples.  16 of the world’s top BMX pros will participate in a head-to-head battle in what has become a favorite event for both fans and athletes after its inaugural contest last September.

The LG World Championships of Freestyle Motocross then thrills fans for one day in Los Angeles at Fairplex Park in Pomona on Saturday, September 27. Four-time LG World Champion Nate Adams (Phoenix, AZ) is eager to reclaim the winner’s podium in 2008, but he’ll have to ride through Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg (Santee, CA) who’s determined to defend his 2007 title with his series of distinctive motorcycle back-flip variations.

One week later, the Action Sports World Tour resumes on October 3 and 4 in Cincinnati, Ohio at the new Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.  This will be the first sporting event ever inside the new arena and the last event for the pros to qualify into the LG Action Sports World Championships.

From November 7-9, 125 of the world’s most elite competitors in BMX, Skateboarding and Inline Skating will face off at the historic Reunion Arena in Dallas, Tex. for the 2008 LG Action Sports World Championships.  This three-day battle for the season-ending World Championships will be filled with explosive, competitive action and A-list musical entertainment.

“We are really excited about our domestic event schedule this year” says ASA Entertainment’s CEO Rick Bratman, “We wanted to mix up the events and the disciplines to provide action sports fans with a well-rounded and unique mixture of what the action sports industry has to offer.  This is not the ‘same-old’ tour concept with cookie-cutter events that get repeated.  Instead, we designed the Tour around the different types of entertainment that both athletes and fans asked to see.”

With its international roster of athletes and events, ASA is bringing consumers the world’s best in action sports competition and entertainment, and will be announcing new, cutting-edge events in the future.  The company’s international schedule is also expected to be released shortly.

For ticket information and more details on the 2008 Action Sports World Tour, please visit www.actionsportstour.com.

We got the latest dispatch from Red Bull about the Elevation contest which goes down this weekend in Mexico.  This event is a favorite among riders and based on what we can see of the course, this year should be no different.

While this has been so popular, it’s interesting to note that a few big names will be making their first appearances this year.  Who might that be, you ask?  Well, only Ryan Guettler, Anthony Napolitan, Diogo Canina, Ricardo Laguna and Dennis Enarson.  Though Corey Bohan and Ryan Nyquist have spilt the last three titles (Nyquist two to Bohan’s one) it’s a good bet that one of those guys will win this year.

All the fun starts on May 9th with qualifiers on the 10th.  The finals will take place on the 11th and according to the website it will be webcast.

More on the contest below.

RED BULL ELEVATION 2008
Guadalajara, Jalisco – Mexico
May 9th, 10th and 11th

The track is almost ready!

Only an event like Red Bull Elevation could count on such a course: more than 80 trucks filled with dirt have arrived to the Metropolitan Park in Guadalajara in order to build the most impressive BMX track.

The fourth edition of Red Bull Elevation is about to begin, and the world’s best scenario is almost ready to receive the best riders worldwide.

The main element that will make more daring this track would be the continuous ramps section in the centre of it, where each rider will have to decide the direction they will take; if they loose their routine rhythm they will not be able to continue to the next ramp. ‘Only the best and the ones that dominate every type of ramps will win this event’, commented Jay Miron, event producer and track designer.

The riders will compete for a total prize of $35,000 dollars. Five international judges will be in charge of the evaluation of every participant’s style, technique and fluidity.

Judges:

Nuno Oliveira
Tim “Fuzzy” Hall
John Povah
Ryan Barrett
Matt Beringer

Red Bull Elevation:

Friday May 9:
9:00am    –    Registration
10:00am  –    Training

Saturday May 10:
10:00am  –    Training
12:00pm  –    Track repairs
1:00pm    –    Qualifiers
4:00pm    –    Announcement of the 12 finalists

Sunday May 11:
10:00am  –    Training
1:00pm   –    Track repairs
2:00pm   –    Final
5:00pm   –    Prize ceremony

For more information:
www.redbullelevation.com.mx
www.redbull.com.mx