Minnaar Rounds Out Podium At Jeep 48Straight Dual Slalom
Just when you thought the season was over along comes the finale of the Jeep 48Straight Series dual slalom race held at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. We thought it would be a great idea to bring World Cup Champion, Greg Minnaar, out of Africa to enjoy the last few days of the Indian Summer weather in the beautiful central coast region of California, grab some prize money and get some airtime on the track and on the CBS November 1st broadcast of the race. Joining us in San Luis was Shaun Palmer, trying to get his sea legs back for competition. Palm wasn’t quite feeling it yet, so just rode practice for fun. Having a laugh, Palmer said he’d give Greg a dollar if he took his hands of the bars, one at a time, as he boosted the 40’ step-up jump. Greg obliged, much to everyone’s amusement, and Palm said, “It was worth paying the dollar to see that.” Everyone was having a fun time and the race brought out a lot of the So Cal riders to try their luck including freeride stars Cam McCaul, Kyle Strait, Cam Zink and mountain bike mouth, Taylor Sage. Even XC Olympian Adam Craig came out to attempt to qualify, but his efforts didn’t quite payoff next to the experienced dual racers. Greg made the most out of his jet lag and qualified 3rd. The evenings were filled with great entertainment and dining at amazing restaurants in this college town. Some individuals who didn’t qualify enjoyed the college night life by finding keg parties to attend. Strolling past the shops on one balmy evening we stumbled across an outdoor fashion show to benefit a breast cancer charity and we joined the festivities and entertainment on the catwalk. Race day was another warm, windy day and Greg underestimated his first run effort with a cruisy run and nearly got beat by So Cal’s Brad Oien. Greg advanced to meet up with Kyle Strait and was heckled by T-Sage saying, “Stars and Bars all the way. Knock that Swahili speaking African back to his motherland.” It wasn’t quite time to go home yet, so Greg raced Eric Carter next, barely beating him on the first run and loosing the round on the second run. With the points, EC knew he was the series overall winner and was ecstatic. Greg went on to race Jared Rando in the consolation round and beat him for 3rd place taking the last podium spot. In the battle of the grandpas, Brian Lopes beat EC for the win showing that talent and experience never dies. As if Greg just lives around the block, we all agreed it was well worth bringing him up to America for four days, as the racing was fun, and the experiences we shared in these shortening days of October will cap off Greg’s first year on the Syndicate with fond memories of a most spectacular year. Be sure to check your local listings for airtimes for the CBS Sports broadcast this Saturday, November 1st for the hour long series finale. Men's Champion – Eric Carter – Temecula, Calif. Women's Champion – Melissa Buhl – Chandler, Ariz. Men's San Luis Obispo Standings 1. Brian Lopes – Laguna Beach, Calif. 2. Eric Carter – Temecula, Calif. 3. Greg Minnaar – South Africa 4. Jared Rando - Australia 5. Kyle Strait – Costa Mesa, Calif. 6. Rich Houseman – Temecula, Calif. 7. J.D. Swanguen – San Diego, Calif. 8. Mike Haderer – Concord, Calif. 9. Cody Warren – Alpine, Calif. 10. Peter Hanak – Winter Park, Colo. 11. Mitch Ropelato – Ogden, Utah 12. Logan Binggeli – St. George, Utah 13. Neko Mulally – Reading, Pa. 14. Amiel Cavalier – Auburn, Calif. 15. Brad Oien – Fountain Valley, Calif. 16. Joey Backus – Mesa, Ariz. Women's San Luis Obispo Standings 1. Fionn Griffiths – Great Britain 2. Melissa Buhl – Chandler, Ariz. 3. Kathy Pruitt – Santa Cruz, Calif. 4. Lisa Myklak – Boulder, Colo. 5. Michelle Rivera – La Puente, Calif. 6. Stephanie Nychka – Gresham, Ore. 7. Joanna Peterson – Folsom, Calif. 8. Leslie Slagle – El Cajon, Calif. Thanks to the Syndicate Sponsors: Santa Cruz Bicycles SRAM Rock Shox Truvativ Avid Maxxis DT Swiss WTB Crankbrothers Lizard Skins Clif Bar Troy Lee Designs Chris King Five Ten Kathy Sessler www.santacruzmtb.comLatest news
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