Dew Action Sports Tour Arrives in San Jose for Fourth Tour Stop, September 7-10
Bay Area locals Ryan Nyquist and Chad Kagy to Compete at Toyota Challenge
September 4, 2006 - New York, N.Y - The Dew Action Sports Tour, the pro tour of action sports, makes the fourth stop of its second season with the Toyota Challenge, September 7-10, at San Jose’s HP Pavilion. The five-city tour opened in Louisville in June and also includes stops in Denver, Portland and Orlando.
Local BMX athletes Ryan Nyquist and Chad Kagy, skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Bucky Lasek and FMX competitor Nate Adams are among the athletes who will be in San Jose to compete for the Dew Cup, awarded at season’s end to the athlete with the highest number of points in each of the six disciplines of skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle motocross. The Tour’s inaugural season champions include Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park), Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert), Kenny Bartram (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert) and Ryan Guettler (BMX Park and BMX Dirt). Each Dew Cup winner received a portion of the $1 million year-end bonus and is competing this season.
The Toyota Challenge will feature 150 professional action sports athletes; all qualified for the remainder of the season at the first two stops on the Tour, the Panasonic Open and Right Guard Open. Due to the depth of this year’s athlete talent, the Tour increased the finals field in all disciplines, allowing 12 athletes instead of 10 to advance to the finals. The Tour also increased the size of the Freestyle Motocross, BMX Park, BMX Dirt and Skateboard Park courses so athletes can perform bigger and better tricks.
The last stop of the Tour, the Vans® Invitational in Portland, Ore., saw intense competition. Some highlights are below:
· Ryan Sheckler, 16, from San Clemente, Calif., reclaimed first place in the Skateboard Park season standings by winning the Vans® Invitational Tour stop. Placing second at the competition was Jereme Rogers, 21, of Boston, Mass., who is also second in the season standings. 11-year-old Nyjah Huston, of Davis, Calif., sits in third overall and finished in 4th at the Vans® Invitational.
· In Skateboard Vert, Sandro Dias, 31, of Brazil, claimed his first victory on the Dew Action Sports Tour. With this win Dias now sits in second place in the season standings. The 2005 Dew Cup winner, Bucky Lasek, 33, of Baltimore, Md., placed third at the Vans® Invitational, but continues to lead the overall season standings. Bob Burnquist, 29, also of Brazil, sits in third place overall.
· Los Gatos native Ryan Nyquist, 27, won the BMX Park event to jump to within 18 points of season leader Daniel Dhers, 21, of Venezuela. Dhers retained his points lead by placing third at the Vans® Invitational. Rounding out the top three is Scotty Cranmer, 19, of Jackson, NJ who placed second at the contest.
· Cameron White, 22, of Australia, won the BMX Dirt event and currently sits in fourth place overall in the season standings. Anthony Napolitan, 20, of Youngstown, OH leads the season standings heading into the Toyota Challenge and is trailed closely by Luke Parslow, 21, of Riverside, Calif. In third is Ryan Nyquist, 27.
· Jamie Bestwick, 35, of Great Britain, continues to dominate BMX Vert competition. He expanded his points lead with another win at the Vans® Invitational. Placing second and currently in second place overall is Chad Kagy, 27, of Gilroy, Calif., with Kevin Robinson, 34, of Providence, RI finishing third and in third overall.
· Travis Pastrana, 22, Annapolis, Md., leads Freestyle Motocross competition after a win at the Vans® Invitational. Second place in season standings is Nate Adams, 22, of Glendale, Az., who also finished second at the Vans® Invitational. Sitting in third place overall is Jim McNeil, 27, of Phoenix, Az.
In addition to competitions in skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross, the Toyota Challenge will also feature the first of two rounds of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup on Thursday, September 7. BMX Supercross will feature 64 of the top racers from across the globe including last year’s champion, Robert de Wilde of the Netherlands. BMX Supercross will be the first action sport featured at the Summer Olympics when it debuts in Beijing in 2008.
Fans can explore the Dew Action Sports Tour’s Festival Village every day of the event, which includes athlete autograph sessions, video gaming and interactive courses. The Verizon Wireless music stage will feature The Roots with special guest Dilated Peoples on Friday, September 8 at 9:00 p.m.
Admission to all competitions, the Festival Village, and the Friday night concert featuring The Roots with opening act Dilated Peoples is included in the daily ticket price for the Dew Action Sports Tour's Toyota Challenge. Friday through Sunday, a daily adult ticket is $15 in advance and a child's daily ticket is $7.50 in advance. At the door, tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for children. Tickets to the Toyota Challenge on Thursday, September 7 are $7.50 in advance or $9 the day of. A four-day pass to the Toyota Challenge is $20 for children and $40 for adults. Tickets available at all Ticketmaster Outlets, ticketmaster.com, charge by phone (408-998-TIXS), and at the HP Pavilion Box Office. Please note that all tickets are subject to convenience and handling charges.
NBC will air the Toyota Challenge on September 9 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT and September 10 from3:00-6:00 p.m. EDT. USA Network’s telecasts are from Midnight-1:00 a.m. on September 8 and Midnight-1:00 a.m. on September 9. FUEL TV provides pre- and post-event coverage of the Dew Action Sports Tour through upcoming stop previews and 30-minute wrap-ups. Check http://www.fuel.tv for complete listings.
For Toyota Challenge schedule information and complete results and standings, fans can log on to www.dewactionsportstour.com.
The Dew Action Sports Tour schedule, events and locations are as follows:
DATE EVENT LOCATION
June 22-25 Panasonic Open Louisville, Ky. - Kentucky Expo Center
July 13-16 Right Guard Open Denver, Co. - Pepsi Center
Aug. 17-20 Vans® Invitational Portland, Ore. - Rose Quarter
Sept. 7-10 Toyota Challenge San Jose, Calif. - HP Pavilion
Oct. 12-15 PlayStation® Pro Orlando, Fla. - TD Waterhouse Centre
