News: Rennie resurfaces with Gravity Group

Rennie is happy to be on a new squad.

Nathan Rennie has officially resurfaced. The Gravity Group, a UCI trade team specializing in DH/4X racing, has announced that Rennie, the former standout of racing programs such as Yeti and the Santa Cruz Syndicate, will headline their team aboard Morewood’s premier DH tool, the Makulu, for the 2009 World Cup season.

There was a lot of head scratching that accompanied the announcement that Nathan Rennie was leaving the Santa Cruz Syndicate racing squad after five years, with a lot of people wondering where the “Beast” would land. Now it’s official. The Gravity Group, one of the top UCI trade teams, will use Rennie’s unique skills alongside those of their returning young gun, 19-year-old Mitch Delfs.

During his tenure as a Syndicate “Kingpin,” the 27-year-old Rennie ascended the podium no less than 40 times. What few knew was that he was plagued season-long in 2008 by a bit of bone rattling round one of his knee joints, impeding his ability to perform consistently. Despite that impediment—which has since been corrected—Rennie made podium appearances, notably the Fort Williams, Scotland “Syndicate” podium and his second-place finish at the Canberra, Australia, World Cup.

“I am super happy to be where I am in 2009,” Rennie stated in the Gravity Group’s official press release. “Not to mention that nine is my favorite number, I am especially happy to be working with new people and working with people I already know. I am impressed with everything so far and how fast the ball has got rolling. I’m stuck in training already and my knee feels good. It won’t be long before it will be 100%.”

Bottom line? Rennie is a dominant rider and one of a select few racers who are almost certain to podium at any race. While a nagging knee injury may seem a pittance by comparison to Greg Minnaar’s chronic shoulder injury in 2007, pain is pain. A healthy and fit Rennie, even one aboard an unfamiliar bike, promises to be a consistent threat for the top spot of the podium throughout the 2009 World Cup series and at the Canberra World Championship track.

For his part, Delfs is considered to a top-10 threat, making the team one to keep an eye on. He rose to prominence in 2007, first at the Mt St Anne track, and later with a fourth-place ride at the 2007 Junior Worlds. In 2008, Delfs started out below the top echelon, but finished strong, twice stopping the clock in the top 10. Look for Rennie to be a mentor to his young countryman.

Both Rennie and Delfs will ride Morewood bicycles for all their events and official appearances, and will run Kenda’s top-notch rubber for 2009. Morewood is a new sponsor to the team, replacing last year’s title sponsor, Tomac. The opportunity for the South African bicycle manufacturer to take over sponsorship duties for a UCI trade team of Gravity Group’s caliber was an opportunity they simply “couldn’t pass up, despite current economic sentiment,” according to Morewood’s marketing director and co-owner Richard Carter.

Other team sponsors are pending.

Mitch Delfs at the '08 Mt St Anne World Cup Colin Meagher

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