honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 2:03 p.m., Sunday, June 22, 2008

Blake Williams, Daniel Dhers win at Dew Tour event

Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Blake Williams won the freestyle motocross event Sunday and Daniel Dhers rose from 11th place to top the BMX Park field today in the AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open.

Williams, from Australia, earned 90.33 on his first run with solid, smooth, big flip tricks and a combination of 360s on the ramps. He held the lead throughout.

Two-time defending Dew Cup champion Nate Adams of Glendale, Ariz., was second at 89.33. Switzerland's Mathieu Rebeaud finished third at 89.00.

"To come back here and take it out, you know, I'm stoked," Williams said. "Nate and I are good friends so should be a good year battling together and everyone else is obviously going to step it up."

Williams was injured last season and didn't compete for six months.

"Just to come out this year I wasn't as comfortable," Williams said. "Still the injury from last year had got in the back of my mind, but I threw down what I had to. I got a lot of confidence back from this weekend and should be able to take that through the rest of the year, which is good."

In the BMX Park event, Dhers, from Venezuela, scored 93.33. Australia's Ryan Guettler was second at 92.50, and Mike Spinner of Miami finished third at 92.33.

"In my first run I started messing up trick after trick, and I was like, 'That's it, it's over,'" Dhers said.

But all that changed on his second run. Moments before, Dhers said he decided to take his hands off the handlebars while he performed a flatspin 720, increasing the difficulty. He landed the trick and continued with three double tailwhips, a 720 over the spine and a no-footed can can tailwhip.

"I got on the deck, I heard my song coming on, and I was like, 'No, no, one more battle and we'll see what's up.' I'm seriously so happy to get the win."

The four-day competition, the first of five stops on the AST Dew Tour that features skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross, drew 52,502 fans. The tour will visit Cleveland in July, Portland, Ore., in August, Salt Lake City in September and conclude in October in Orlando, Fla.