says.">Photo: By Harry How, Getty Images
X Games gold medalist Pierre-Luc Gagnon, the world's
top-ranked vert skateboarder, carries confidence
into Portland, Ore., for this weekend's Wendy's
Invitational. "I'm feeling dialed right now," he
says.(As seen in USA Today) - Pierre-Luc Gagnon is the world's top-ranked vert skateboarder heading into the third stop of the 2010 Dew Tour this weekend, the Wendy's Invitational in Portland, Ore.

Gagnon leads the Dew Cup standings after his win in the World Skateboarding Championships in Boston in late June and carries the momentum of an X Games gold and a win in the Maloof Money Cup last weekend in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Despite top contenders Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist and Olympic champion Shaun White challenging him, Gangon is confident in his momentum.

"I'm feeling dialed right now," he said. "You have to be consistently good all season if you want to win the whole tour. That's why it's a major accomplishment if you win the Dew Cup."

White will make his second competitive vert skateboarding appearance this season in Portland after nearly beating Gagnon in the X Games two weeks ago.

"I have a lot of respect for Shaun," Gagnon said. "He skated great, and he put a lot of pressure on me. I had to dig deep into my bag of tricks to beat him."

The Wendy's Invitational will be the first Dew Tour stop this summer to feature both skateboarding and BMX. The big story among the bike crowd is 15-year-old phenom Brett Banasiewicz, who emerged from obscurity by dominating the BMX Dirt Open qualifier, prelims and final rounds in the BMX Open in Chicago last month for his first pro victory.

"Last month in Chicago was awesome," Banasiewicz said. "It was a great feeling to come through Open qualifiers to win my first BMX Dirt event on the Tour. I'm really looking forward to the next three stops."

Also competing in Portland are X Games gold medalists Ryan Sheckler, Daniel Dhers, Garrett Reynolds, Jamie Bestwick and Pedro Barros.

NBC will broadcast the Wendy's Invitational on Saturday and Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. ET.