FIRST DEW DONE, SHECKLER WINS
Saturday, June 21, was "Go Skateboarding Day." So it was fitting that it was also the weekend of the first stop of the 2008 Dew Tour. Shaun White wasn't there, but reality star Ryan Sheckler was. Only 18, Sheckler has won the Tour three times, and showed his ownership by winning Park by nearly five points.
Vert was a lot more open with White gone. Home town hero Bucky Lasek wasn't going to lose this year, but it was close: His 93.75 was only a quarter point over Pierre-Luc Gagnon of Canada, who totaled 93.50. This will be a good struggle for the year end win.
This was one stop (called the Panasonic Open) with FMX, and that awesome Australian Blake "Bilko" Williams won with huge tricks. The motorized BMX event won't be at all stops this year.
BMX, with a lot of attention just because a different BMX discipline will make a debut at the Beijing Olympics, was won by Daniel Dhers. All the tricks, in every event, were bigger and more daring this year than ever before.
The AST Dew Tour, which will make one stop a month, will next make another Ohio stop July 17-20 in Cleveland, where Shaun White will compete. The rest of the schedule is: August 21-24, Portland, Oregon; September 11-14, Salt Lake City; October 16-19, Orlando.
Thanks to Lat34 for the update. For a full report on each day of the first Dew stop, go to Lat34.com