Greg Minnaar wins the UCI World Cup Downhill season opener aboard his Fox/Shimano equipped carbon V-10 with an exhilarating run that had the hill alive with the roar of thousands of fans including the oneLife crew and the Minnaarmy!  Steve Peat came in 15th and Josh Bryceland 21st on this improved, pedaling course in Greg’s hometown of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

It always feels like a homecoming for us to be in this friendly city and the Syndicate was welcomed back by all Greg’s family and friends.  The local support of the race is big and there were many improvements to the track and the race venue.  Training went well all week and the boys came into the season fit and lean.  Greg was fastest in qualifier by the slimmest margin of .008 over Aaron Gwin and he picked up max points for his efforts.  Steve was 11th fastest and Josh 17th.

Rain was on and off during the week and we had quite a bit come down on race night.  Things dried up quick and we had a beautiful day for the race.  Everyone got to the top of the hill eager to get the season underway.  Greg started into his race run and made a few mistakes and was 2 seconds down at the first split.  He gained some time by the second split and was only 1 second off the pace.  Steve said, “Greg can make up that time.”  As Greg neared the finish the volume of the crowd was at a fevered pitch and this certainly had to boost the effort into overdrive.  As the leader board went green the oneLife crew of friends pushed the fence down and flooded into the finish arena while Steve lifted Greg off the ground in victory.

An ecstatic Greg says, “I made a few mistakes on the top part of the track and I knew I had to make up some time.  On the bottom section I had to stand and pedal hard and I fought all the way to the finish.  You know when you are coming into the finish and you see the oneLife crew breaking the fence down that you’ve had a good run.  And then Steve jumped over the fence and grabbed me I knew I had won.

Minnaar, fronting the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, started last as the quickest qualifier, and initially looked behind the blisteringly fast time laid down by seasoned Australian star Mick Hannah and who looked poised to make it a family one-two after his sister had scooped the women’s title.

However 30 year old Minnaar, who won here in 2009, had to dig deep over the tough final third of the course to make up two crucial seconds to finish six tenths of a second faster than Gwinn, sending the crowd into raptures.

His race was far from perfect however. A clearly nervous Minnaar missed a few key lines and went wide into the big drop at Cloud 9, leaving him off Gwin’s pace.

“Maybe those mistakes helped me because then I decided that I could not afford to sit down till I got to the finish. It hurt a lot and my legs were burning but I knew I had to make up that time,” said Minnaar. “It was just a catch-up game, and I think that’s what got me down the bottom slightly quicker than these guys. I had to fight the whole way through to the end.”

“When you cross the line, you’re never sure where you are, there’s no scoreboard in front of you,” said Minnaar. “I normally look for Steve Peat because he’s the first to jump over anywhere. I just saw the fencing starting to move, and as I came closer and closer it just collapsed, and I knew I had won it.”

The win was an emotional one for Minnaar, who has been spending much of the past fortnight at his father’s side in intensive care at a local hospital. His team gave him licence to withdraw from the season-opening UCI MTB World Cup. However at his father’s insistence he opted to race, and set up an online facility in his hospital ward to enable him to watch the internet-streamed live coverage of the race.

“I don’t know how excited the staff at the St Anne’s UCI will be when we roll in to celebrate!” said Minnaar.

It was Minnaar’s sixteenth World Cup victory in his 54th World Cup outing, and clearly one of the most significant of his illustrious career.

“Greg always finds another level at the bottom and digs deep, so it’s always tough racing him, especially on this track,” said Gwin. “It was awesome. I was really happy for him. He’s had a crazy couple of weeks, so for him to be able to pull it together here in front of his hometown crowd, it must be special for him, so I’m happy with second today, for sure.”

“I’m extremely happy,” said Mick Hannah afterwards, admitting that he was somewhat underprepared for the early start to the season. “Last year, here, I gave away three seconds in the first split, and this year I had the fastest split up the top. I faded a little bit at the bottom, but Aaron and Greg are on top of their game. I couldn’t be happier.”

More info can be found at www.mtbworldcupsa.co.za

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
2012 ROCKYROADS UCI MTB WORLD CUP PIETERMARITZBURG
ELITE MEN DOWNHILL
1.Greg Minnaar 3:57.980
2.Aaron Gwin +0.632
3.Michael Hannah +0.994
4.Gee Atherton +1.303
5.Steve Smith +4.384
6.Jared Graves +4.436
7.Andrew Neethling +4.800
8.Troy Brosnan +5.017
9.Julien Camellini +5.604
10.Cédric Gracia +5.674

1.Greg Minnaar  3:59.620
2.Aaron Gwin +0.008
3.Steve Smith  +0.871
4.Gee Atherton  +1.767
5.Troy Brosnan  +2.270
6.Michael Hannah +4.385
7.Cédric Gracia  +5.055
8.Aurélien Giordaengo  +5.901
9.Jared Graves  +5.908
10.Andrew Neethling  +6.347

Video Via YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C0uWK5JB8s

Pietermaritzburg – For Pietermaritzburg local Greg Minnaar, the opening round of the RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup, to be held at the Cascades MTB Park, is hugely important. In the past, it has brought him both joy and disappointment.

The first time the World Cup was held in Pietermaritzburg, in 2009, Minnaar gave the home fans exactly what they wanted, producing an outstanding run after going off as the second last rider in the field, to claim a massively popular and exciting victory.

“That definitely was the best win by far,” he said on Thursday before heading off to put in some practice at Cascades.

“It was the first time that I got to race in front of all my family. My gran was still around, it was cool for her. She was one of my biggest fans. All of my friends and the people who I was at school with, who didn’t quite know what I did, I finally had a chance to race in front of them all.
“It was really special, and luckily, I was fortunate that I won.

“It was crazy. The sound of the crowd was just echoing. You could say that it was a fairytale ending to the first World Cup.”

Last year, American Aaron Gwin produced a stunning ride to edge Minnaar by a quarter-of-a-second for the title. No other rider came close to their times, but for the South African star it was a disappointing result.

“When you’re racing at home, you want to win, more so than at any other race. Last year was disappointing, being second and just so close to the win, but I feel the physical shape I am in now, and with the new bike and new equipment we’ve got for this year, we have a bit of an edge on the guys, so hopefully we can turn that second place into one step better.”

The Santa Cruz Syndicate standout laughed when remembering the support he received from the crowd in 2011. “Last year, they brought a guy in a Borat suit and he climbed a tree and the guys get all into it,” he smiled. “There’s a good following here and they’re enthusiastic. Guys made up a song for me, it was pretty funny, so it’s cool.

“This year I think it’s just going to be as big as the other years. I feel it’s being held on a better weekend; Easter weekend didn’t quite suit it because there’s a lot going on with other events,” said Minnaar.

“It’s a good race,” he added. “The other riders seem to think that the crowd is good for everyone, it’s very enthusiastic. I think we’re hungry for World Cup racing and the crowd definitely shows it.”

The 31-year-old’s Santa Cruz Syndicate team consists of three of the world’s leading downhill racers, one being himself and the other two being Steve Peat (37), who placed fifth in Pietermaritzburg in 2011, and Josh Bryceland (21), who claimed tenth place.

Minnaar explained: “That’s what the Syndicate is all about. We have three different kinds of characters. We all work well together and we have a good time together.

“We have a good environment in the team. There’s no rivalry before competition, we’re all there to support each other, and I think that’s what separates our team from everyone else. It’s a sport where you race individually, but if we can help each other in any way we can, we’re there for each other, so our team is stronger.”

Minnaar has been working hard in the off-season to balance his body and strengthen his weaknesses and feels it has paid off.

“I feel a lot stronger physically. I feel I’m in the best condition I have been in,” he said.

Next year, Pietermaritzburg will host the biggest event in downhill racing, the UCI MTB World Championships and Minnaar is looking forward to the opportunity of adding another World Championship title to his previous win in 2003.

“It’s where I grew up racing. In fact, my first ever race was at the top of Ferncliff, and the hardest thing is, if I did win World Championships, as I want to do, I don’t know whether it’s worth continuing to race, not that I would retire. I can’t see myself retiring, but I don’t think there’ll be anything to motivate me as much as winning at home.”

He continued: “If you look at the patterns of my wins, they’ve got a sequence, so hopefully that would work, with 13 being my lucky number.”

Asked if he is expecting some new stars to emerge like Aaron Gwin did last year, Minnaar said: “There are a few younger guys coming through, but it’s hard to say because downhill has such a long off-season and anyone can emerge. You don’t know if guys who did well last year are still going to be there. We had guys come out two years ago and they were up there in the top three, and last year they were nowhere.”

“It’s hard to predict and hard to know who is on it. Hopefully, I’m on it. That’s all that matters right now.”
The RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup Pietermaritzburg takes place at the Cascades MTB Park from 16 to 18 March 2012. More information can be found at www.mtbworldcupsa.co.za

As part of the arrangement, Iron Fist will produce apparel for the MTB World Cup in conjunction with Cycling SA.

The MTB World cup in Pietermaritzburg SA, will mark the first downhill and cross country World Cup of the 2012 season with the event being held at Cascades MTB Park March 16-18, 2012.

This partnership represents a huge leap forward for Iron Fist Athletics and is the logical next step for supporting team rider Greg Minnaar”, said Travis Anderson; Iron Fist CEO, ”We are excited to be involved with such a great event, and look forward to future MTB partnerships for 2012 and beyond.”

“To have a brand of the integrity and credibility of Iron Fist Athletic as our official merchandising partner is an exciting prospect and adds hugely to our event – especially as we go forward towards the 2013 UCI MTB & Trials World Championships that will be staged here next year and we look forward to working closely with the team”, said Alec Lenferna, Event Director.

About Iron Fist Clothing:
Iron Fist is by no means an ordinary clothing brand; its artwork and styling have set it apart from many of its streetwear counterparts.

Making clothing because they feel like it, Iron Fist is impulsive, raw and unapologetic and has grown from strength to strength purely because of its diversity and constantly innovative approach to each season.

Renowned for quality product with exceptional artwork, Iron Fist is not for everyone, and they like it that way. The Iron Fist customer is an individual; a person who creates their own style.

www.ironfistclothing.com

“Testing was amazing, the most productive test session I have ever been to.  Besides good riding and eating killer Italian food, our Syndicate family expanded with Fox and Shimano.  I feel this was a great start to the year and I’m looking forward to more positive things to come in 2012,” said Greg Minnaar.

The testing took place on the long downhill racetrack in San Romolo with shuttle assistance from Roberto Vernassa from Argentina Bike. The five-man Fox crew was ready to gather information from suspension testing using their state of the art data acquisition equipment.  Spirits were high as everyone got started off on the dark chilly mornings while the mechanics built a bonfire at the bottom of the track to stave off a bit of chill. Riders were warm and tingly inside with big grins after the first run.

“We were getting everyone up to speed on the new full carbon frame, Fox suspension, and Shimano components. With the frame being much lighter than the previous version we had to dial the suspension in because of less un-sprung weight. I’ve also been riding the new XTR brakes for some time now and can’t get over how impressive they are, particularly with modulation. Feedback from all the racers was what I was expecting, a new milestone in performance,” says Rob Roskopp.

Greg Minnaar exclaims, “I was blown away on the first ride down the rugged San Romolo track.   The first thought was, this is a winning combo!  Fitzy and his crew worked flat out to get us up to speed. Their passion, enthusiasm and suspension knowledge is going to be very positive to the Syndicate.  It’s been awhile since I was last on Shimano, 2003…and that was a good year for me. I hope this is the good luck I’ll be needing to win another World Championship.”

Santa Cruz engineer Joe Graney says, “We look forward to a close relationship with the suspension experts at Fox.  They arrived in Italy with a team of engineers and technicians – blowing everyone away with how they were able to accurately translate each rider’s input into measured improvements in speed and control.  Shimano continues to push the envelope with technologies like Ice Tech brake rotors and the Shadow Plus derailleur, as well as the variety of options that can be configured for different conditions fitting perfectly with Santa Cruz Bicycles’ core values of customer choice, usable performance, durability and long term support.”

Our newest addition to the Syndicate, mechanic Jason Marsh says, “I’m super happy that we are using Fox Racing Shox and Shimano for the 2012 season.  The new Fox 40 forks suit the carbon V-10 frame perfectly and the RC4 rear shock really compliments the VPP suspension design.  The riders were all impressed on how good the bikes felt, even after the first run.  I have worked with the Saint group-set for the last three seasons and I really like how they work.  Saint cranks are super strong, brakes are simple to set up and the rear derailleur and shifter are super smooth and a nice set up.  Finish and attention to detail can’t be matched.  The support offered by the Fox team over the last few days has been superb and their race support is second to none.  2012 will be a great season.”

Steve Peat was surprisingly pleased, “We have had three awesome days testing and training in Italy.  It was great to catch up with all my crew after a few down months throughout the winter and I was happy to get out on the Santa Cruz V-10 and trash it in the test situation.  Fox is a company that I have watched over the years.  They obviously have great product because the fast guys are using it and winning races now and again on it.  And Shimano needs no introduction.  It’s a no brainer that they have great products and I am looking forward to working with them at the races! We came up with some great set ups and I am now looking forward to the season.  Now it’s our turn to give it a thrash on our V-10’s, 2012 should be fun!”

“The test session was a big learning curve for me.  Having ridden Boxxer’s since I was about 14, I’m very used to the look and feel of the fork so it was a huge change.  I really enjoyed the process of getting my new bike set up and it was interesting getting to know the characteristics of all the new products.  The suspension seems almost limitless with it its adjustability and I think our bikes have entered a whole new realm of adaptability.  Despite getting my ass kicked in the final race I had a really fun and productive three days,” said Josh Bryceland.

Tradition is that on the last day of testing we always have a race to see who is quickest.  Once again, for the second time in a row, Peaty took the win.  But unlike the first time when Greg wore the dress to dinner, it was Josh’s turn to wear a skirt.  Since there were no women’s clothes handy, Josh had to improvise and craft a fashionable number out of a pair of pants. “His outfit was complete with his ‘special’ tiger underwear, “ chimes in Roskopp.

Joe Lawwill, Shimano’s MTB marketing manager says, “Shimano is very proud and excited to be working with Santa Cruz Bicycles and the iconic Syndicate race team.  We are looking forward to a successful and exciting 2012 season.”

Fox’s Mark Fitzsimmons says, “We are very excited to work with a team at this level. The professionalism of the team has shown in their years of great results and we look forward to bringing our suspension expertise to the program. We here at FOX thrive on the pure honesty racing brings to our development process and look forward to learning from Steve, Greg and Josh to continue to improve our products and aid them in their mission for podiums. Our goal is to provide our athletes with a suspension performance advantage and look forward to continuing this into the 2012 season.”

Syndicate head mechanic Dougie “Fresh” Hatfield says, “The Fox and Shimano Saint equipped bikes ran silky smooth during our test camp in San Romolo. The riders really liked the responsiveness and quality of the product.  We are ready to go racing!!”

Kathy Sessler
Santa Cruz Syndicate Manager

This has been an incredible journey, and the partnership has helped our racers achieve an impressive set of goals and dreams—2 UCI World Cup Downhill overall titles, 10 UCI World Cups wins by Greg Minnaar, 3 World Cup wins and a historic World Championship title by Steve Peat, and a Junior World Championship title by Josh Bryceland. These results were made possible using SRAM, Rockshox, Truvativ and Avid products, along with the world-class technical support of the SRAM team.

Working closely with John Dawson and Jon Cancellier on prototype Black Box projects and receiving their on-site support was a pleasure, and our heartfelt thanks go out to them for their years of dedication to the Syndicate. Thank you also to Dave Zimberoff for making the partnership possible.

Steve Peat says, “Leaving SRAM is a tough one for me. I have been with RockShox for 16 years so you could say the brand is engraved in me. But like most things in life nothing lasts forever and it has been a great time over the last 16 years. I want to thank each and every person at RockShox and SRAM who have helped me achieve my goals in my career. I have made lots of friends and had some fun times. Thanks guys!”

Greg Minnaar says, “Since joining the Syndicate in 2008 your support has been incredible. Thanks to all the crew that work hard behind the scenes making sure our Black Box equipment was keeping us ahead of the rest.”

Josh Bryceland says, “I’ve ridden SRAM since I started mountain biking and I’ve come far using their products. Times change and so do sponsors, thanks for 4 years on the Syndicate without a mechanical in a race run.”

Rob Roskopp says, “Our partnership with SRAM over the years saw many milestones achieved, Steve Peat’s 2009 World Championship in Canberra, Greg Minnaar’s win at Maribor in 2010 aboard the first carbon bike to take a World Cup win, and countless podiums over the last 8 years. I would like to thank the whole crew at SRAM for the great memories and support.”

Recognized as one of the best and most consistent riders in the world Iron Fist looks to Greg to anchor the new Iron Fist Athletic line, which is why the deal will keep him with the company through 2016.

I’m excited to join IF, the roots of the company started just down the road from me in Durban more then 10 years ago before kicking off in California”, said Greg Minnaar, “I actually remember buying a IF cap in 2001. Iron Fist is an edgy fashion line with exceptional quality, now we can only wait for the 2013 Athletic line to launch.

Greg is an exceptional athlete and friend and he represents a huge step forward for Iron Fist and Iron Fist Athletics”, said Travis Anderson; Iron Fist CEO, “We are excited to be working with a champion like Greg, he’s exactly who we need to help us launch Iron Fist Athletic as a world class brand.”

Greg Minnaar is a world champion mountain biker from South Africa. Crowned downhill World Cup Champion 3 times since 2001, Minnaar has represented South Africa in the world championships every year since 1997, and he is always in the hunt.

About Iron Fist Clothing:

Iron Fist is by no means an ordinary clothing brand; its artwork and styling have set it apart from many of its streetwear counterparts. Making clothing because they feel like it, Iron Fist is impulsive, raw and unapologetic and has grown from strength to strength purely because of its diversity and constantly innovative approach to each season. Renowned for quality product with exceptional artwork from a barrage of some of the world’s best underground and street artists, Iron Fist is not for everyone, and they like it that way. The Iron Fist customer is an individual; a person who creates their own style.

www.ironfistclothing.com