You know how everybody says "I would hate to be a judge at this event" and such because of the level of riding these days? Well, it's true. And it's quite evident when you look at the scores and see that the difference between almost all the placings is less than a point. Riders like Dennis Enarson miss the podium in park by half a point and Brett Banasiewicz (who everybody thought would come out and win everything in Dew Tour this year) is in 5th, right behind Dennis by .12 points... Less than a quarter of a point?

This event didn't include vert, but included the dirt event which was missing from the first event of the season. Do you see this pattern of less events and less dirt and less vert? I don't want to think about it, but it's happening and it's worth noting. Regardless, Dennis Enarson took first in dirt this event, more than making up for just missing podium in park. It's great to see such a talented rider who's known for park and street blow everybody away on dirt and show amazing diversity. Same with Kyle Baldock, the park rattiest of park rats, who took second in dirt showing how his box jump mentality works even better on the dirt course which is almost like a series of box jumps.

Brandon Dosch rounded out the dirt podium, slipping from his all star year last year. It's also worth noting Chris Doyle, a legendary, stylish rider who dominated dirt in the earlier days of dirt competition, took fourth and missed the podium by a little over a point. That would have been a nice change; almost like the time Mike Aitken won an event. Most likely my favorite Dew Tour moment. Definitely.

On to park, Scotty Cranmer has really come back from the epic injury season a few years ago. He started at the Nike HB event a year ago and never slowed down. He rode extremely well at this summer's X Games but missed out on the gold as the contest format isn't Scotty's strength. Dew Tour's 45-second-run or whatever is definitely where Scotty shines, linking long lines and big tricks all over the course. Kyle Baldock will double up on silver medals this weekend, taking second in park as well and probably becoming rookie of the year in BMX this season. Daniel Dhers just made the podium in third place with the typical Dhers Show.

So, some changes have happened. It's nice to see some different names as Nyquist and Reynolds were found lower on the standings list. Those guys are amazing and have had some amazing performances in Dew Tour's past, but action sports in general move so quickly. Kids can come up out of nowhere or even riders who fell off a bit (like Cranmer) can come up and take a podium spot right out from under your nose. See you in SLC, Utah where dirt and vert will take place and apparently park will be skipped, evening out the event skips this year. Big Air will happen on Sunday...