September, 2005 – San Jose, CA – Dave Mirra, 31, of Greenville, N.C., today took home his first win at the Dew Action Sports Tour, placing first in the BMX Park competition. Mirra’s backflip tailwhip over the spine in his first run helped to earn him a winning score of 92.25. The higher score of two runs is taken to determine the rider’s final score. “I did what I wanted to do,â€? said Mirra, who now sits in fifth place in the Tour’s BMX Park standings with 176 points. “Heading into Orlando, I’m able to creep back into the points race. Every Tour stop is a building block. You have got to come out strong from the start and finish even stronger. [Second place finisher Scotty] Cranmer is the future of this sport. He is an amazing athlete and he gave me a run for my money.â€? Scotty Cranmer, 18, of Jackson, N.J. edged 26-year-old Los Gatos, Calif. native Ryan Nyquist for the second place spot with a score of 90.50. Nyquist’s first run earned him an 89.75, which he was not able to improve upon after getting a flat tire in his second run.
We were lucky getting so much done the previous day that started off being wet. Wednesday had a better forecast but the temperature stopped somewhere around 15 degrees. It was dry though which was the main thing as we wanted to cruise through Paris on our bikes this time. We had planned to meet up with Thomas Revest and Christian Van Hanja at the Trocadero at noon but Guettler's tire had a small leak so we pumped that up and decided to bring the pump just in case.
The Mirra Bike Co team is a varied mix of riders. On their European trip Dave Mirra brought Mike Spinner, Dave Rytell and Mike Laird along for the first leg at the FISE in France. After flying in from the USA to Paris the crew took a fast train to Montpellier and checked out the 2008 version of the FISE. With Rytell not being the contest type rider it was pretty wild for him to enter his first contest since the Local Exposure Tour a few years ago when he got picked up by Mirraco. Although Dave Rytell has lived in Germany for many years (his dad was in the army), he only received his passport two hours before take off. In fact, it wasn't even valid when he showed up at customs because he had not signed it yet. Seasoned traveler and company owner Dave Mirra had brought his friend Mike Rogister along as well who promptly received the "Security" title. At 6 ft 4" and as fit as a K1 fighter you really couldn't miss him. Mike Laird was stoked to be back in France after coming out to the FISE for the first time last year. Mike Spinner is always up for traveling and was ready to meet his myspace girls in sunny France.
Day one of the 2009 King of the Animal House is officially in the books and it was one to remember. Being a completely new contest concept, nobody knew what to expect or how it would play out. Although it started off a little slow as people were trying to figure out the system, once it got going, it blew up quick. The overall vibe was incredible and full of positive energy with each rider throwing out their bust stuff hoping to get a cash callout and get paid. If the judges saw something they liked, and they saw a lot they liked,
This weekend the first annual King Of The Animal House event will take place in Greenville, NC. Today (Friday 11 December) the Cash Jam is on the program. Not only do the riders go crazy for some extra cash ($ 8000,= USD total), but the one who makes most cash today, also will receive a brand new Yamaha TTR dirt bike. Today also forms the groups of tomorrow's finals and the last group receives some extra time in their jam session. Reason enough to go nuts in "qualifying" today. Here are a few notes from yesterday and pics by Sean Hargraves.
-Mad Dog replaces Chase Hawk who is out with hurt shoulder
-Drew Bezanson can’t get out of Canada/into the US for some paperwork issue so he wont be here
-Vince Byron boosting to the moon
-There will be a head to head mini comp between Chris Hughes and Vince Byron to win a place in the final jam. Whoever wins the most $$$ in Friday’s cash jam gets the spot
Showcasing the disciplines of BMX park, vert and dirt with its first ever BMX single-sport event, the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open was filled with firsts including two newcomers to the podium. Kicking off the Nike 6.0 BMX Open, the BMX dirt finals quickly became the night of the open qualifier, as Josh Hult fought through three rounds of competition to claim a piece of the spotlight. After taking seventh in open qualifiers and second in the prelims, Hult hit the eject button in his first run, putting the pressure on him for his final two runs. A truckdriver tailwhip and 360 to downside whip helped secure the victory for Hult, the first of his career. Hult beat out the past two Dew Cup champions – 2007’s Ryan Nyquist and 2008’s Cam White – to make the feat that much more impressive. Brandon Dosch, who also had never made it onto a Dew Tour podium before the Nike 6.0