White Unleashes Armadillo for Skate Vert Win

Shaun White threw the run of his life at today’s Wendy’s Invitational to knock Pierre Luc Gagnon off his yearlong winning spree and take the skate vert win. White distanced himself from the rest of the field with a two-point margin in his first Dew Tour competition since 2008.

Bucky Lasek, 2nd; Shaun White, 1st; Pierre Luc Gagnon, 3rd

After White and Gagnon’s first few runs were both cut short by falls in the final jam, it all came down to the final runs of the competition to decide the winner.

Alex Perelson was on a tear, and even attempted a 900 during the finals. He and Andy Macdonald shared the lead after each skater had taken their first runs, but that all changed when Bucky Lasek landed a fakie 540 and a boneless to switch nosegrab combo in his second run for a score of 91.50, taking the lead and putting the pressure on White and Gagnon.

Bucky Lasek Nollie Flip Stalefish

PLG made his bid for the lead in his third run, putting down a solid run that included a kickflip body varial 540 and a switch heelflip to frontside 360. But he got sketched for just a moment at the end of his run and couldn’t beat Lasek’s score.

PLG Alley-Oop Kickflip Mute

White then took the lead with a 93.50, earned by throwing a run he said he’s always wanted to do but has never been able to pull off in a competition. He did a frontside fakie 540 to fakie 540 cab, to 720 and he ended with the armadillo, a frontside heelflip body varial 540.

With only one run remaining for the five skaters, Lasek went for broke on his first trick but fell, leaving it all up to PLG and White. PLG’s fourth run included a 720 and big flip tricks to earn a 90.00, handing the win to White, his first Dew Tour victory in two years.

Shaun White Kickflip Indy Air                                Kickflip Indy to Fakie

Gagnon’s win in Boston combined with his third-place showing at the Wendy’s Invitational puts him into the lead in the Dew Cup standings, with Macdonald in second and Lasek in third overall.

Results

1. Shaun White, 93.50
2. Bucky Lasek, 91.50
3. Pierre-Luc Gagnon, 90.00
4. Andy Macdonald, 86.50
5. Alex Perelson, 86.50

For complete results from the Wendy’s Invitational, click here, and for current Dew Tour standings, head over here.