Santa Cruz Syndicate’s Greg Minnaar hosted a Big Air Camp for 10 local downhillers from around South Africa preceding the Pietermaritzburg leg of the SA Downhill MTB Championships on March 12th through 14th. The camp started on Wednesday with the guys arriving from all parts of SA and ranging in age from 11 to 44, all eager to meet their local hero and current Downhill World Cup Champion.
Wednesday evening was the opening night, pizza was ordered and everybody relaxed and got acquainted. The riders were also treated with a surprise guest on Wednesday evening; they got to spend time with GM’s teammate Peaty. Star struck with two riding heroes in front of them it wasn’t long before everyone was relaxed and joking around.
Thursday Morning
Early start with the guys being picked up at 9:00 and off to Howick Downhill course, this at the time was thought to be the best downhill in the area to ride as it was raining and the other courses were inaccessible. While the riding was delayed due to muddy roads, Minnaar and the guys where soon on the course practicing sections in the mud starting from the top,picking lines and trying different technique all the way to the bottom of the course.
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Friday Morning
Beginning with a early 8:30 start again, the guys took off to the Cascades downhill course, which is where the SA Downhill MTB Championship was going to be hosted two days later with a South African Champion chosen in each age group.
Greg went through race prep with the riders and spent the day on the course teaching them the proper race preparation. Greg covered all types of bike skills and techniques from cornering, braking, picking the right line. GM also took each rider and made sure their bike was set up correctly for them and the course.
Mike (Greg’s Mechanic from Team G-Cross Honda) was also on hand to share his experience with setup and helped adapt the proper setting for a given riding style.
March 14th–16th was the SA Downhill MTB Championships held at Cascades in Pietermaritzburg and it was going to be interesting to see what results the riders from the camp could achieve after spending the time and preparing with Greg.
Sunday came and all the guys were anxious to get the first run of the day in muddy conditions under way which took place in the beautiful Ferncliff forest and proved to be extremely tough with a lot of steep sections, big drops and a long pedaling section.
The camp participants proved they had retained a lot by attending the camp as they saw a 1st in three different race classes.
Sub Junior Boys
1st Tiaan Odendaal
Youth Men Men
1st Timothy Bentley
2nd Kenneth Sinclair
Junior Men
1st Hayden Brown
Elite Men
1st Greg Minnaar
After the event Greg commented, "I'm really stoked to see all of the riders do so well today. With the comments and results from the camp it's pretty clear to me that this is something I really want to keep doing, to help develop the sport in my own country. I’m really happy to have won the National Title and now lets hope Nathan and Steve can do the same. The spectators were awesome this weekend, it meant a lot to me to see so many people out there cheering.”
Greg at the top of the podium
Reader Comments
Posted Wed Mar26, 2008, 2:46 AM — By dani
brrravo bre jeni am te tgrentin gud
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