Bob Burnquist at the Louisville stop of the 2006 Dew Tour on June 23, 2006. Mark Epstein © 2006
2006 Dew Tour Skate Vert Louisville
Jun 27 2006 / Louisville, KYUpdated 6/25/06
Bob Burnquist Victorious in Skate Vert at Panasonic Open
The contest saw some intense action and some serious slams, and came down to three names you’re probably used to hearing by now: Burnquist, returning Dew Tour champ Bucky Lasek, and Andy Macdonald.
A fun feature at the Dew Tour is that the fans have full access to lengthy practice sessions; by the time the actual contest came around, everybody was pulling for some of their favorite tricks they'd already seen in rough draft. After two falls in Round 1, Bucky’s second place Round 2 run showed him in top form, landing several tricks he’d been working on all day before an appreciative crowd here in Louisville, including sweet backside ollie to tailslide over the channel, a nollie flip indy, a picture-perfect McTwist, and a perilous-looking frontside rodeo 540.
Macdonald also came through with a trick he’d been trying – and failing at – all day: a crailslide to varial on the lip that sent the crowd afire at the end of a run that also featured a backflip onto the deck to roll-in, a nollie 540, and lots of great spins and flip tricks.
Lincoln Ueda looked like a top competitor in practice and in the contest, despite his 11th place finish, and will be a top-three threat through the rest of the Dew Tour. The crowd went wild for his attempted Samba flip, an Ueda original in which the board is flipped first one way and then reverse-flipped. Despite his falls and poor finish, he was skating like a man on a mission to make a mark here on the Dew Tour.
To the disappointment of many fans here – and to a lot of folks back here in the media room who had built up some great White hype leading in to this event – Shaun White didn’t make it to today’s Finals after two falls in Prelims led to a disappointing 20th place finish. Still, Bob, Andy, and Bucky know better than to count him out. White is fully capable of winning any of the next four events on the Dew Tour and could still mount a campaign for the overall championship. In Vert skating, you just never know.
2. Bucky Lasek, 91.00
3. Andy Macdonald, 88.25
4. Mathias Ringstrom, 84.25
5. Anthony Furlong, 84.25
6. Pierre-Luc Gagnon, 84.25
7. Neal Hendrix, 80.00
8. Jean Postec, 78.75
9. Rob Lorifice, 78.50
10. Tas Pappas, 78.50
11. Lincoln Ueda, 63.75
12. Max Dufour, 63.50
20. Shaun White (maybe next time!)
Updated 6/24/06
A report from the Vert Prelims at Panasonic Open: Shaun White is out;
Bob Burnquist and Andy Mac are on top; Jean Postec is Lat34's pick for
an underdog fave.
Despite the Shaun White hype going into the Dew Tour, the Olympic gold
medalist will NOT be repeating last year's win here in Louisville.
With falls in both runs of the Vert Prelims, White placed dead last
and is out for tomorrow's Finals.
The one and two slots went to veteran pros Bob Burnquist and Andy
Macdonald, with Jean Postec in third and defending Dew Tour champ
Bucky Lasek in 4th. Also qualifying: Pierre Luc-Gagnon, Anthony
Furlong, Licoln Ueda,, Rob Lorifice, Mathias Ringstrom, Neal Hendrix,
and Mas Dufour.
Fans here in Louisville were pretty stoked on Burnquist and Macdonald,
but if you're looking for a new guy to root for now that Shaun's out,
then Jean Postec is the one to watch.
The 21 year-old from Annecy, France has been placing in the top 10 in
major contests over the last year and is already off to a great start
for the 2006 summer season. He's also quickly gaining a reputation as
the new guy to watch out for: Tony Hawk has called him "the future of
vert," and Postec is one of a small handful of competitors with a 900
in his bag of tricks. Rumor has it he's now doing them fakie; now that
he's made the Finals, look for him to pull out all the stops in
tomorrow's contest.
Burnquist, Macdonald, and Lasek aren't afraid of a little competition.
– Colin Bane
