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Winning's never easy, especially when you gotta do it on a vert ramp against Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Bucky Lasek and Andy McDonald, but with a run to remember, Shaun took the top spot on the podium today at the Dew Tour in Portland.

After coming unstuck on his first two runs in the final, Shaun was able to put together something special for the good folks of The City of Roses. "I knew I had to do a heavy-heavy combination and I nailed it," was Shaun's explanation.

As for the specifics, the winning combo goes a little something like this: frontside fakie 540, to fakie 540 cab, to 720, to armadillo, or for all you laypeople, a frontside heelflip body varial 540.

It was Shaun's first Dew Tour appearance since '08, which may have helped fuel the fire. "I wanted to show that I've got it down," he surmised. Consider this mission accomplished.

With Shaun's name entered into both the Vert and Best Trick categories at this year's X Games, he's finally making his return to the ramp official. X Games hits LA from July 29 through August 1, and Shaun's eager to get rolling. Coming off of a serious ankle tweak that left him sidelined for the better part of two months, he's amped to drop into the Staples Center and see where four wheels will take him. Both the Vert competition and Best Trick go off on Friday, July 30. More to come soon from the man as he gets on the board and the beast that is X Games takes off.

So, ESPN's ESPY Awards have come and gone, and a huge amount of gratitude is owed to all those that voted and put Shaun right there on the same stage as the New Orleans Saints, the LA Lakers and all the rest of the country's biggest names in sport. "It's an unbelievable honor," says Shaun. "Any time you have people voting, and it's not just about performance, it means a lot. It means somehow you were able to have an effect on people, and then for them to recognize you for it, it's pretty amazing. I'm honored."

And now, as the snowboard season melts away and the hecticness of the 2010 Olympic games starts to recede, it's back on the skateboard. Shaun's committed to the vert event at this Summer's X Games, and "I'm pumped," he says. "Nothing like a new challenge to fire you up."

One is sweet, two's even better, but three golds in three years at the Winter X Games? It's unheard of, literally. Until Shaun stomped his run last night in the Men's SuperPipe, nobody had ever won back-to-back-to-back golds. But uncorking the now infamous Double McTwist 12, Shaun wasn't all that fazed by history.

"It's been a wild night for me," said Shaun at the bottom of the pipe. "Hitting my head didn't help anything, I've been seeing stars all night long," he added, referring to a helmet-popping, skull-rattling wipeout during a practice run not more than an hour before he took center stage.

Obviously the newly unveiled McTwist was the talk of town. "I knew in my mind that I wanted to do it, no matter what happened even if I was in first," said Shaun. "That trick's just a beast of its own. I don't know, somedays are just tougher than others, I guess. I was glad to put it down tonight."

Note: Earlier this week the Transworld Snow guys were with Shaun during a Park City practice run. The following is their take:

Shaun White busted out an insane new trick at the final Grand Prix practice under the lights at Park City tonight--a double McTwist 1260. He says, he booked it straight to Park City after the Mammoth Grand Prix and, reminiscent of last winter when he innovated several double corks in the pipe, he fixated on this new goal. Read More...

"For me tonight to put that run together was unreal," says Shaun, shortly after linking his Grand Prix-winning 49.50 ride in Park City this weekend, a run that included the newly debuted double McTwist 12. "It felt great. I wanted to push the judges to boundaries that they can go to. I know they haven't handed out a full-on perfect score yet. I'll get them."

With this win in Park City, Shaun locked in the top spot of the 2010 Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix series. High fives, hand shakes, and good times ensued. He's now bound for Aspen and Winter X.

The hill was packed. The "industry" made the trek up from their various SoCal headquarters, and even riders who wouldn't normally be caught dead at a comp turned up to watch. With the crowd in full attendance, the riders were excited to get the competition rolling.

Not one to waste any time, with the sun shining and the crisp Sierra wind at bay, on Saturday Shaun stomped his first run, accenting it with a series of double corks, and locking in a 47-point ride for the effort.

After a long off season, the snowboard world is back on track and ready for the wild ride that will be the road to Vancouver. The first of five qualifiers to make the US Olympic team begins today in Copper Mountain, CO and Shaun is here and ready to ride.

As qualifiers get underway, the field has stepped up its game, everyone has been training and it should be a contest like nothing we have seen before. Tune in for updates...

Here is some teaser footage from my training sessions with Red Bull

Find out more about Red Bull Project X and what went down...

It was another beautiful day in Tahoe as Shaun White took to the final stop of the '09 Winter Dew Tour, stomping all over his run, landing him in second place for the day but catapulting him to the top as the Overall Slopestyle Champion for '09!

Shaun adds this title to his summer Dew Tour Championship and looks forward to the Superpipe final tomorrow. He will be battling it out for the Overall Tour Championship and with his 2nd place in Slopestyle, things are looking up for Sunday's Final!

Tune in to watch it all go down tomorrow LIVE on NBC from 3:00-6:00pm EST!