Jamie Bestwick wins AST Dew Tour BMX Vert event and Mike Aitken Wins BMX Dirt event in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY – Jamie Bestwick won the BMX vert event and Mike Aitken won the BMX dirt event Friday in the Toyota Challenge.

In BMX vert, Bestwick won a tiebreaker against Chad Kagy to top the BMX Vert competition Friday in the Toyota Challenge.

The 37-year-old Bestwick, from England, earned his third victory of the AST Dew Tour season with 93.00 points, despite competing with an injured back.

Kagy, from Gilroy, Calif., ended up second based on a lower second-run score. England’s Simon Tabron was third at 92.17.

Kagy took the lead in his first run with 93.00 points in a performance that included a Superman seat grab and a 540 tailwhip. His fellow competitors were unable to best his score for the remainder of the first heat.

Kagy retained the lead throughout the second heat, until Bestwick, the last competitor, performed. Bestwick tied Kagy in his run, which included an alley oop downside tailwhip and multiple 540s. Their remaining scores in the two-run finals decided the tiebreaker. Bestwick’s 92.00 bested Kagy’s 89.17.

“I did what I could do tonight,” Bestwick said. “Chad rode fantastic and Simon rode the best I’ve ever seen him move. My legs are feeling fine, but my back hurts. It feels horrible that my body is starting to fail me.”

Bestwick will take a 30-point lead into the finals in Orlando, Fla.

“I was glad to come out and lay it down at the Toyota Challenge and I did what I could today,” Bestwick said. “The goal is to go to Orlando and take this thing.”

In BMX dirt, style prevailed over technical tricks when Aitken won the competition.

Aitken said he rode his bike as a testament to BMX trail riding style of the past, rather than the technical, cutting-edge, progressive style executed by today’s top riders. “It’s rare to see me upside down,” Aitken said.

The 25-year-old Aitken, of Salt Lake City, finished at 92.08 points. Australia’s Corey Bohan finished second at 91.92 and fellow Australian Cameron White was third at 91.92, but with a lower scoring earlier run than Bohan.

Aitken’s winning run included a variety of stylish 360 tricks.

“To win it doing the things that I’m into and the things that I love makes it that much more special,” Aitken said.

“I went in there and I did what I normally do. I tried to keep the nerves down. I honestly didn’t think I had a chance. I’m just shocked and happy to be up here.”

The four-day competition is the fourth of five stops of the AST Dew Tour that features skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross. Saturday’s action features freestyle motocross and skateboard park finals, while the Sunday schedule includes the BMX park and skateboard vert finals.

AST Dew Tour-Toyota Challenge Results
Friday, September 12, 2008
Salt Lake City

BMX Vert Finals
1. Jamie Bestwick, Great Britain, 93.00. 2. Chad Kagy, Gilroy, Calif., 93.00. 3. Simon Tabron, Great Britain, 92.17. 4. Jimmy Walker, Chicago, Ill., 91.50. 5. Steven McCann, Australia, 91.33. 6. Zackery Warden, St. Louis, Mo., 90.33. 7. Dennis McCoy, Kansas City, Mo., 89.33. 8. Francisco Zurita, Chile, 88.50. 9. Austin Coleman, Los Angeles, Calif., 88.33. 10. Jay Eggleston, Denver, Colo., 86.83.

BMX Dirt Finals
1. Mike Aitken, Salt Lake City, 92.08. 2. Corey Bohan, Australia, 91.92. 3. Cameron White, Australia, 91.92. 4. Dennis Enarson, La Mesa, Calif., 91.84. 5. James Foster, Redlands, Calif., 91.50. 6. TJ Ellis, Moreno Valley, Calif., 90.09. 7. Luke Parslow, Australia, 90.09. 8. Anthony Napolitan, Youngstown, Ohio, 88.59. 9. Brandon Dosch, Lake Orion, Mich., 88.34. 10. Cory Nastazio, West Palm Beach, Fla., 88.25

AST Dew Tour 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 Dirt Points
1. Cameron White, 303. 2. Luke Parslow, 279. 3. Corey Bohan, 278. 4. Ryan Nyquist, 276. 5. James Foster, 264. 6. Dennis Enarson, 262. 7. Cory Nastazio, 202. 8. Ryan Guettler, 201. 9. Rob Darden, 172. 10. Diogo Canina, 158.

AST
The Action Sports Tour (AST) is the recently created umbrella brand and organization of the world’s most prestigious action sports events. Currently the AST consists of two national tours, one international event and an amateur series: AST Dew Tour (debuted in 2005), AST Winter Dew Tour (debuting in 2008), AST China (debuting in 2008), and Free Flow Tour (debuted in 2005). The AST properties are home to over 280,000 spectators each year and broadcast in 100 countries and 280 million homes worldwide. The AST Dew Tour consists of five major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, a $2.5 million competitive purse – the largest in action sports – and an additional $1 million bonus pool. Each event features skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt) and freestyle motocross. At season’s end, the overall point’s leaders in the six disciplines are crowned year-end champions and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup. Key lifestyle elements at each Tour event include the Festival village, specialty competitions, and live cutting edge music. The AST Dew Tour partners include Mountain Dew (tour title sponsor); and Panasonic, Right Guard Xtreme, Wendy’s, Toyota and PlayStation® (event title sponsors). Associate partners include Ball Park, Mongoose®, Nike 6.0, NowWhat.com and Verizon Wireless. More information can be found at www.ast.com.

NBC Universal
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MTV Networks
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