Alli Checks In with Cam White

Alli checked in with ’08 Dirt Dew Cup champ Cam White after prelims at the Nike 6.0 BMX Open. He’s competing on a busted knee this season, after tearing his ACL in his native Australia just a few months ago. If he gets surgery, he’s out for nearly six months. Instead, he’s waiting until the Dew Tour closes out the season with the Dew Tour Championships in Las Vegas, where he calls home half of the year. And even though he’s limited with what tricks he can do, he’s still going for it this season.

 You just tore your ACL, and you’re not getting it fixed this season, why is that?
Injuries always are the worst timing. It happened like a month or two ago, and rehab after surgery is six months which means I could miss out the whole season or I could just man up and send it. So, I’ve got a knee brace on and just can’t put my leg down so I just take it to the shoulder.

 
Tailwhip

You were the Dew Cup champ two years ago, are you looking to collect your second this year?
I’d like to, not making the finals in the first comp isn’t a good start to winning the Cup again. But I had a great run up until the start of ’09. I had a bad back last year, which set me back a lot. Now this year it’s my knee. You know I could put excuses on all day, but at the end of the day I just try to stick my runs.

 
Backflip turndown

The Dew Tour Championships will take place in your American hometown of Vegas for the first time this year, are you looking forward to that?
I’m excited for Vegas, man. So stoked I don’t have to travel anywhere, it’s in my hometown. It will be a great comp and I’ll have a lot of fun as always.

 

The dirt course and the venue in general will be dialed in for Vegas like never before, and the vert ramp will even be set up over the pool at the Hard Rock. Anything you’re looking forward to at the Championships?
I think it’s gonna go off, eh. The Dew Tour is the biggest event for our sport, and then you take it to one of the biggest party towns in the world, if not the biggest party town in the world, and I think it’s gonna be amazing. Fuzzy always builds good courses and I’m sure me and Lavs and Nate will be there to help him out in Vegas if he needs it. Get the jumps amazing and get it done. It will be sweet.

Who are some of the others guys in dirt you’ll be watching this season?
Andy Buckworth, he’s only a young fellow from Australia. He’s riding real good. I like watching him ride and the tricks that he can do are nuts. And then just anyone on the deck.  Nyquist, Doyle. All those boys, man. The best thing about dirt is that everyone on the roll in could win the stop. And that’s what makes it so exciting. Every jump that we jump is different. And you just don’t know who’s gonna ride good on the day and just win, so it’s exciting and it’s hard to put a name on someone.

Flip Whip

So even though you didn’t get through to the finals at the first stop, the Wendy’s Invitational in Portland is only a few weeks away. What are your plans to prepare for it?
Well, with my knee, I’m limited to tricks. I can’t do barspins. So I can’t do any double truckdrivers, or backflip barspins to tailwhip. Anything with barspins and I can’t do that trick. I’m limited to like three or four major tricks. I’ve been working on them nonstop and I was pretty dialed coming into this contest. But as I said, it doesn’t matter how good you are, how dialed you are. It’s how you ride on the day. Today wasn’t my day.  No complaints. I sent it, gave it everything, and that’s just part of it.

Both Las Vegas residents, TJ Lavin and White will be stoked to have Dew Tour Championships in their ‘hood

Watch Cam take first at the Right Guard Open in 2008