Kyle Baldock emerges triumphant in BMX Park finals at Pantech Open – Dew Tour 2011
Australia’s rookie Dew Tour BMX rider, Kyle Baldock, made history by walking away victorious from the finals of BMX Park at the Pantech Open, first of the four stops on Dew Tour 2011, on Sunday, July 24, in Ocean City, Maryland.
California’s Dennis Enarson came up with an outstanding performance to clinch second position, while Ryan Nyquist, another Californian, completed the podium after finishing in third place.
The outcome of the BMX Park contest took everyone by surprise as there was hardly anyone who expected to see the 20-year-old Australian storm through the competition and best some of the world’s most talented riders to take top honours.
After failing to qualify for the tour last year, Baldock came back this year to take care of unfinished business. While redemption may have been his sole objective in the beginning, the excellent performance in the qualifiers gave him the necessary confidence
to dream big.
Despite pitted against last year’s BMX Park champion Daniel Dhers and other intimidating riders, which included Enarson, Nyquist and Brett Banasiewicz, the young Australian kept his cool and remained the highest scorer in the semi-finals to confidently make
his way to the finals.
Facing 10 in-form riders in the finals on Sunday, Baldock held nothing back and went on a rampage, throwing down a run that none of his rivals had an answer to.
The decisive run by the Australian went like this: Tuck no hander in to a triple whip, then front flipped back, followed by aired the quarter and double flipped the box forwards. Without losing a beat, he did a bar-to-bar over the hip, followed by a front
flip over the spine, aired the quarter and flip whipped the box on the way back. Then he did a down whip into a flair whip into a bar tap into a 900.
Both, the crowd and judges, were left awe-struck after witnessing the phenomenon performance by the New South Wales-resident. Getting 94.75 for the sensational run, the fate of the contest was sealed in Baldock’s favour.
“Front flipping the spine and doing a 900 are the new ones I just learned, so now doing them is crazy, and in a run too, I can’t even say anything,” Baldock said in his post-final interview.
The 20-year-old Enarson took second place after finishing with a score of 93.75. His best run included a flip whip, double tail-whip and a bar-spin.
Nyquist, a 32-year-old who also helped to design the course, managed to find a place on the podium after finishing in third place with a score of 92.50.
Talking to a reporter after the contest, Nyquist had nothing but praises for the contest-winner, saying, “That guy’s not skipping a beat, he’s an animal. He’s got a bright future, man. He’s got some seriously gnarly tricks and he just seems to have a really
calm, cool, collected competition head.”
While the BMX Park action may have wrapped up in Ocean City with the conclusion of the BMX Park final, the Dew Tour still has a lot in store for the fans at the second stop, Portland Invitational, which is to be held next month in Portland, Oregon.
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