Lutzka’s defining moment of the competition was a 270 to switch frontside blunt slide. “I didn’t think I could ever take out Sheckler because he is so consistent,” said Lutzka, who now ranks fourth in the Dew Action Sports Tour Skateboard Park standings. In order to secure his first win on the Tour, Lutzka changed his strategy. “A lot of the guys go out and do the same thing all the time. I was trying to switch it up today and happened to put it together,” said Lutzka.
Ryan Nyquist, 26, from Los Gatos, Calif., clinched his win in BMX Park Finals with a run that included a suicide no-hander to barspin backflip. Nyquist edged Scotty Cranmer of Jackson, N.J., with a score of 92.75. Cranmer scored a 92.50, while Ryan Guettler, the Vans® Invitational BMX Dirt winner, finished third with a 92.00.
“With athletes like these in the competition I couldn’t just sit back, I had to go for it,” Nyquist said. “It was a rough start to the season, I’m happy to finally have my first win on the Tour.”
Saturday in Portland also saw Bucky Lasek of Baltimore, Md., win the Skateboard Vert Final. The 32-year-old Lasek scored a 91.50 in his best of three runs to edge Andy Macdonald of Boston, Mass., who scored a 90.75. Lasek also won July’s Dew Action Sports Tour Right Guard Open in Denver. Sandro Dias of Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished third with 87.50 points.
Despite having the flu all week, Lasek came through with the victory on a run that was filled with technical tricks, including a frontside rodeo 540 over the channel.
“I just flipped the switch on, I can’t believe I won,” Lasek said. “It seems the Tour has been going smooth for me. The overall impression has been remarkable. The support of the fans and NBC is something that competition skateboarding needs.”
With the win, Lasek extended his lead in the Skateboard Vert overall standings with 275 total points. Macdonald follows Lasek with 179 points, while Pierre-Luc Gagnon of Montreal, Canada is in third with 169.
Portland’s Rose Quarter hosted the Dew Action Sports Tour’s Vans® Invitational from August 18 - 21. The Tour’s next stop will be at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, September 8-11. Complete results, standings, schedules, video and up-to-the-minute information on the Dew Action Sports Tour is available at www.dewactionsportstour.com
Owned by NBC Universal and Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports, the Dew Action Sports Tour debuted in June 2005, and consists of five major, multi-sport events with a cumulative points system, the biggest competitive purse in action sports and a $1 Million Bonus Pool based upon year-end standings. NBC and USA Network combine for 32 original hours of exclusive Dew Action Sports Tour coverage - the largest combined network and cable commitment in action sports. Each tour stop features competitions in skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt) and freestyle motocross. At season’s end, the Tour will award champions in the six combined disciplines of skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross with the Dew Cup. Key lifestyle elements at each Tour event’s festival village include live cutting-edge music, video gaming, and interactive courses.
