Bikes and big air dominated the LoDo skyline Saturday night as Great Britain’s Jamie Bestwick and Kenny “The Cowboy” Bartram of Stillwater, Okla., stole the show in their respective disciplines of BMX and FMX at the Dew Action Sports Tour’s Right Guard Open at the Pepsi Center.
Bestwick’s pedal-powered performance on the BMX vert ramp inside the Pepsi Center was highlighted by a series of high-amplitude tricks several feet above the deck of the 13.5-foot walls of the halfpipe. Combining 540- degree spins, 720s and “flair whips,” he came from behind to unseat BMX superstar Dave Mirra of Greenville, N.C., with a score of 96.00 to Mirra’s 94.25.
“It was a great competition. Everybody was healthy and firing off and Dave Mirra put in a fantastic run,” Bestwick said. “I knew I was chasing a good score, so I never gave up.”
Bestwick pushed his riding to the brink, literally, when he attempted a 900 after time on his 45-second run had expired. He missed his landing and hit the deck hard.
“I went for the gusto and just came up short,” he said. “I never thought my run was good enough. I didn’t realize time had expired and thought I had to do something else, so I just went for it.”
Mirra, who has dominated the BMX freestyle world the past decade, sought to regain the lead on his second run in the finals, but had a problem with his bike’s handlebars and finished with a crash. With the top score after the first round, Bestwick took a pass on his second run. Chad Kagy of Gilroy, Calif., finished third at 92.75.
Outside on the dirt, Bartram and his freestyle motocross competition endured a marathon event that spanned nearly 12 hours after high winds postponed afternoon competition midway through the second of two runs. Bartram laid down the score to beat in the first round of the finals, only to watch Jeremy Stenberg of Winchester, Calif., bump him into second position just before the weather delay. It would be five hours before Bartram would get his second chance at the course.
“It was definitely a long day,” Bartram said. “(Stenberg) was just ahead of me going into this round, so I knew it was going to be between him and I. I’m just happy to come out with the win.”
Schedule
TODAY AT THE PEPSI CENTER
1:30-4 p.m.: BMX dirt prelims
1:30-4 p.m.: Skateboard vertical prelims
4:30-5:30 p.m.: Skateboard vertical finals
6-7:30 p.m.: BMX dirt finals
Tickets
$12: Available at Pepsi Center box office or through Ticketmaster.
Web: dewactionsportstour.com
