It’s nice to see him back — even for one contest.

All that said, be sure to check out the video below — it has highlights of all the top riders from the contest including Austin Coleman, Dhers and Nyquist.  Plus you gotta love the screenshot — see Zack Warden in the background.

Daniel Dhers had a prefect season on the AST Tour going into Friday’s BMX Park Finals in Orlando’s PlayStation Pro.  He was the only athlete still undefeated for the season and had a chance to be the first person to sweep all five events on the Tour.  So much for history.

Veteran Ryan Nyquist, long a factor on the tour and last year’s Dew Cup winner in BMX Dirt, won the third AST Park contest of his career with a huge 95.00 score, knocking Daniel Dhers into second-place.  Dhers still easily won the AST Dew Cup — his third in a row.

Austin Coleman finished third with a 92.67 — no one else scored more than 90.00.

Mike Spinner, who was running second for the season in the Dew Cup race, finished ninth in the contest but still was number two in the Dew Cup race when all was said and done.

For the Dew win, Dhers will take home $75K for the contest and will likely be named the athlete of the year thanks to his near-perfect season.

For more about the contest, check out AST.com.

Daniel Dhers | cr. AST

BMX Park Final Results – PlayStation Pro
October 17, 2008 – Orlando, FL

1st – Nyquist, Ryan – 95.00
2nd – Dhers, Daniel – 93.33
3rd – Coleman, Austin – 92.67
4th – Darden, Rob – 89.33
5th – Mirra, Dave – 89.17
6th – Reynolds, Garrett – 88.67
7th – Bezanson, Drew – 88.33
8th – Cooke, Allan – 87.83
9th – Spinner, Mike – 87.83
10th – Mast, Craig – 87.67
11th – Barbero, Alessandro – 85.33
12th – Guettler, Ryan – 84.83

The first video features highlights from the BMX Dirt finals, including parts of Cameron White’s winning run and those of Ryan Guettler and Ryan Nyquist.  The second has some shots from Friday’s FMX Demo, which replaced the full contest this season.  Judging from the almost-empty stands, it’s understandable.  Of course, the Red Bull X-Fighters contest in Madrid could have something to do with it, too.

Cameron White has won the BMX Dirt final at the 2008 Right Guard Open in Cleveland, OH.  Ryan Guettler placed second while the winner of last month’s Panasonic Open, Ryan Nyquist, placed third.  The win means White and Nyquist are tied in the race for the Dew Cup — the top honor awarded to the best athletes in each sport of the AST Dew Tour.  Nyquist won the honor in 2007.

Despite White’s close finish to Nyquist in last year’s Dew Cup race, White hasn’t won a AST Dew Tour final since the Vans Invitational in Portland in August 2006.

For Guettler, the second-place finish is all the sweeter since he missed the finals last month in Baltimore.  James Foster. Steve McCann and Dennis Enarson rounded out the top five while top qualifier Corey Bohan (last month’s top three finalists were pre-qualified) ended up in 8th place.  Hometown hero, Anthony Napolitan, who won the Dew Cup in 2006, finished a disappointing 12th place.

Keep reading for some more details from the AST about his win.  Otherwise, here are your final results:

BMX Dirt Finals Results – 2008 Right Guard Open
July 18, 2008 – Cleveland, OH

1st – White, Cameron – 93.92
2nd – Guettler, Ryan – 92.50
3rd – Nyquist, Ryan – 91.59
4th – McCann, Steven – 89.58
5th – Enarson, Dennis – 89.34
6th – Parslow, Luke – 89.34
7th – Darden, Rob – 89.25
8th – Bohan, Corey – 88.75
9th – Foster, James – 88.58
10th – Dosch, Brandon – 88.08
11th – Berkheimer, Nate – 86.92
12th – Napolitan, Anthony – 86.00

Cameron White Wins AST Dew Tour BMX Dirt event in Cleveland

CLEVELAND -Cameron White established his dominance on the dirt course and won the BMX Dirt event in the Right Guard Open on Friday night.

The 24-year old White, of Australia, landed his signature trick, a backflip barspin tailwhip, to secure the victory with a 93.92 score.  Fellow Australian Ryan Guettler finished second at 92.50 and Ryan Nyquist of Greenville, N.C. was third at 91.59.

The 90-minute final was full of technical tricks, with a 1080 from Guettler and a double backflip from Luke Parslow, who finished sixth.

White is the current points leader in the quest for the Dew Cup but he doesn’t dwell on the standings.

“If you start looking long term it’s just added pressure,” White said. “I try to alleviate all the pressure I can and just compete against myself every run. Those runs I did today were the best I can do. I gave it everything and landed it and that’s all you can ask for.”

Ryan Nyquist | cr. AST

Ryan Nyquist topped a tight nine-man field in the Right Guard Open BMX Park prelims Friday, as a little over three points seperated the top from the bottom.

Nyquist led the field with a 93.83, comfortably ahead of Garret Reynolds (92.00) and Craig Mast (91.83), but four riders tied in the middle of the pack with a 91.17, including James Foster, who is better known for his strong dirt skills.

Missing the cut were Morgan Wade, Dennis Enarson, Diogo Canina and local Anthony Napolitan, but that allowed some fresh faces to make the contest exciting, including Alessandro Barbero and Drew Bezanson.

Steve McCann also made the finals, meaning for the first time in AST history someone will be competiting in the finals of BMX Dirt, Vert and Park (he has made the finals of all three in the past, but never at the same time).

Already qualified for the finals are Daniel Dhers,  Ryan Guettler and Mike Spinner.

The finals will take place Sunday and be shown live on NBC from 4-6 p.m. ET.

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

12. Alessandro Barbero
11. Drew Bezanson
10. Marcus Tooker
9. James Foster
8. Rob Darden
7. Steven McCann
6. Craig Mast
5. Garrett Reynolds
4. Ryan Nyquist
3. Mike Spinner
2. Ryan Guettler
1. Daniel Dhers

BMX Park Prelim Results – 2008 Right Guard Open
July 18, 2008 – Cleveland, OH
(Top Nine Advance)

1st    Nyquist, Ryan    93.83
2nd    Reynolds, Garrett    92
3rd    Mast, Craig    91.83
4th    McCann, Steven    91.67
5th    Darden, Rob    91.17
6th    Foster, James    91.17
7th    Tooker, Marcus    91.17
8th    Bezanson, Drew    91.17
9th    Barbero, Alessandro    90.5
———————————
10th    Young, Gary    90.33
11th    Enarson, Dennis    90.17
12th    Kiraly, Kevin    89.5
13th    Hunt, Brian    89.33
14th    Wade, Morgan    88.83
15th    Harrington, Josh    88.67
16th    Wirch, Scott    88.33
17th    Napolitan, Anthony    88.33
18th    Dosch, Brandon    88
19th    Thompson, William    87.17
20th    Whitton, Alistair    86.67
21st    Perry, Joshua    86.5
22nd    Watkinson, Anthony    86.17
23rd    Canina, Diogo    85.33
24th    Smith, Jeremiah    85.33
25th    Vasquez, Eric    85.17
26th    Sieg, Dan    84.83
27th    Snowden, Ben    84
28th    Toohey, Jaie    83.5
29th    Coleman, Austin    83.5
30th    Mackay, Colin    82.5
31st    Klinger, Seth    77
32nd    Cooke, Allan    73.5

BMX Dirt: Ryan Nyquist’s Double Bar Spin 720
BMX Vert: Chad Kagy’s Opposite Flair Whip
Skate Park: Paul Rodriguez’s Crooked Grind Nollie Flip Out
Skate Vert: Bucky Lasek’s Boneless Frontside Rodeo 540
FMX: Blake Williams’ 360 Knack Knack
BMX Park: Daniel Dhers’ No Handed Corked Out 720

Winners get a chance for the Trick of the Year and a $5K check and a PS3 game system. And if you are a betting man, go for Nyquist.

Daniel Dhers in Baltimore ’08 – cr. AST

The USA broadcast at midnight showed the dramatic showdown for the top spot in dirt, with Ryan Nyquist sealing the win in the final run of the night. He threw out a new trick dubbed the “Powerball” (a cannonball double barspin) and scored a 95.50 which took him barely over James Foster (the final score is an average of the best two out of three runs).

The broadcast also featured the debut of TJ Lavin’s new single, “Soldier,” which is dedicated to and about Stephen. You can click on the player below to check it out. It contains a lot of older footage of Stephen and is great to watch. The CD comes out on July 8th and can be preordered at Best Buy. Song features vocals by Lavin, Pippa Tabron and music by Simon Tabron. Cory Nastazio also has an appearance.

Here’s a press release from the AST about the Day’s events. Also be sure to check out AST.com for more about the AST Dew Tour.

Bestwick wins BMX Vert and Nyquist wins BMX Dirt at AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open in Baltimore

BALTIMORE – Jamie Bestwick won the BMX Vert event and Ryan Nyquist came from behind on his final run to win the BMX dirt competition Friday in the AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open.

The 36-year-old Bestwick, from England, sealed his victory with an alley-oop in his first run, which earned him a 96.00 score. Chad Kagy of Gilroy, Calif. was second at 93.17, followed by England’s Simon Tabron at 92.00.

“I tried to stay smooth and high on my first run and I hit them all perfectly,” Bestwick said. “I didn’t know my first run would turn out like that. That was amazing.”

It’s good for me to take the early lead right now, but the race for the Cup is just getting started. It’s not over yet.”

Bestwick, the three-time defending Dew Cup champion, has won 12 out of 16 events in the four-year history of the Tour.

In the BMX dirt competition, Nyquist executed a flawless first run that placed him out of reach of the competition.

James Foster of Redlands, Calif. finished second with 95.09, and Australia’s Cameron White was third at 94.00.

“Definitely a lot of pressure,” Nyquist said. “It was pretty intense up there for me.”

“I can’t even count the number of times I’ve blown the chance to lock it in before I had to take the third run.”

Nyquist performed a trick that he named the powerball, which is a cannonball double barspin. He is the only athlete that has ever completed this trick.

The level of competition was fierce throughout the event. In his final run, Foster completed back-to-back technical tricks, a triple tailwhip and a windshield wiper, but it was not enough to take the win.

The four-day competition is the first of five stops of the AST Dew Tour that features skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross. Saturday’s action features Skateboard Park and Skateboard Vert finals, while the Sunday schedule includes the Freestyle Motocross and BMX Park finals.

AST Dew Tour-Panasonic Open Results
Friday, June 20, 2008
Baltimore

BMX Vert Finals
1. Jamie Bestwick, Great Britain, 96.00.
2. Chad Kagy, Gilroy, Calif., 93.17.
3. Simon Tabron, Great Britian, 92.00.
4. Kevin Robinson, East Providence, R.I., 91.17.
5. Austin Coleman, Los Angeles, Calif., 90.17.
6. Steven McCann, Australia, 89.83.
7. Dennis McCoy, Kansas City, Mo., 89.17.
8. John Parker, State College, Penn., 89.00.
9. Jimmy Walker, Chicago, Ill., 87.50.
10. Jay Eggleston, Denver, Colo., D.N.S.(Did Not Start).

BMX Dirt Finals
1. Ryan Nyquist, Greenville, N.C., 95.42.
2. James Foster, Redlands, Calif., 95.09.
3. Cameron White, Australia, 94.00.
4. Diogo Canina, Brazil, 93.25.
5. Corey Bohan, Australia, 93.17.
6. Luke Parslow, Australia, 92.42.
7. Dennis Enarson, La Mesa, Calif., 92.09.
8. Chris Gerber, Ft. Wayne, Ind., 90.00.
9. Cory Nastazio, West Palm Beach, Fla., 89.59.
10. Colin Mackay, Australia, 89.42.

AST Dew Tour Current Standings

BMX Vert Points
1. Jamie Bestwick, 100.
2. Chad Kagy, 85.
3. Simon Tabron, 75.
4. Kevin Robinson, 70.
5. Austin Coleman, 65.
6. Steven McCann, 61.
7. Dennis McCoy, 57.
8. John Parker, 53.
9. Jimmy Walker, 49.
10. Jay Eggleston, 45

BMX Dirt Points
1. Ryan Nyquist, 100.
2. James Foster, 85.
3. Cameron White, 75.
4. Diogo Canina, 70.
5. Corey Bohan, 65.
6. Luke Parslow, 61.
7. Dennis Enarson, 57.
8. Chris Gerber, 53.
9. Cory Nastazio, 49.
10. Colin Mackay, 45.

Check out some video of highlights from the action.

Full results are below plus check out some photos on RideBMX.com.  We’ll post photos as soon as we get ‘em.

One note — Gary Young apparently missed the finals and Mike Clark took his place ending up in sixth overall.  Not bad!

2008 Red Bull Elevation Final Results
1. Cam White ($10,000)
2. Ryan Nyquist ($6,000)
3. Corey Bohan ($4,000)
4. TJ Ellis ($3,500)
5. Chris Doyle ($2,500)
6. Mike “Hucker” Clark ($1,500)
7. Rob Darden ($1,000)
8. James Foster ($500)
9. Dennis Enarson ($500)
10. Anthony Napolitan ($500)
11. Dane Searls
12. Brian Foster

Best Trick: Ryan Nyquist, cannonball double barspin. ($5,000)

Corey Bohan, Cameron White and Ryan Nyquist topped the semifinal results at Red Bull Elevation on Saturday, with only 0.3 separating the three riders. The top 12 riders from the field of 30 advanced to Sunday’s finals.

Check out the full press release below to see how everyone ranked.

RED BULL ELEVATION
International BMX Dirt Jump Competition
May 10th, 2008

A take off without precedents

It’s impossible to imagine, but today Red Bull Elevation turned the Parque Metropolitano into a runway. Thirty bicycles rolled for more than three hours over tons of dirt that give shape to the most impressive BMX Dirt Jump track.

The best riders of the world jumped up to three meters of height with only one thing in mind: to perform the best and most perfect tricks such as tailwhips, barspins and frontflips.

After each contestant had four opportunities to take over the course, the judges (Tim ‘Fuzzy’ Hall, Nuno Oliveira, John Povah, Ryan Barrett and Matt Beringer) revealed the semifinal’s results:

Name / Score
1. Corey Bohan 91.1
2. Cam White 91.0
3. Ryan Nyquist 90.8
4. TJ Ellis 89.7
5. Chris Doyle 89.7
6. Gary Young 89.1
7. Rob Darden 89.1
8. James Foster 88.5
9. Dennis Enarson 87.3
10. Dane Searls 87.3
11. Anthony Napolitan 86.3
12. Brian Foster 85.7

13. Mike “Hucker” Clark 85.1
14. Josh Stead 84.9
15. Adam Baker 84.4
16. Colin MacKay 84.0
17. Héctor García 83.1
18. Markus Hampl 82.7
19. Adam Aloise 82.3
20. Ryan Jordan 82.1
21. Ricardo Laguna 81.7
22. Alistair Whitton 81.5
23. Romuald “Bibi” Noirot 81.5
24. Jed Milden 81.2
25. Heath Pinter 79.9
26. Luke Parslow 79.7
27. Erick Soto 79.5
28. Fernando Sabat 75.3
29. Matt Beyers 75.0
30. Kym Grosser 71.4

Just the best twelve riders passed to the big final, which promises to be breathtaking.

“The course was challenging and I feel good on it”, said the Red Bull Athlete Corey Bohan (Australia), who obtained the best score during the semifinal. On the other hand, ‘El Baisa’-who today experienced his first international Dirt Jump competition- mentioned that spite he didn’t qualify to the final, he is very happy of having participated in this event; “to ride on a course like this is a motivation for me to keep practicing BMX”, said the Mexican rider.

Tomorrow at noon everything will be ready for the finalists to challenge gravity and show what they are able to do on two wheels.

May 11th: live transmission on www.redbullelevation.com.mx