Santa Cruz Syndicate's Greg Minnaar (SRAM/RockShox) bags another win this season here at Northstar in Lake Tahoe at the Pro GRT Downhill event.
He was joined on the podium by teammate Steve Peat in 3rd, and fellow Santa Cruz rider, Cedric Gracia of the Brigade, in 4th. Bryn Atkinson was on the second step and young rider, Mitch Ropelato, rounded out the podium in 5th. (Josh Bryceland stayed home for this event to recover from his crash in Leogang where he suffered a concussion and an impact to his AC shoulder joint).
Racing in the United States, and so close to Santa Cruz factory, was a fun diversion from the World Cup circuit. To have a dry, dusty course was something the racers hadn't seen since Fort William, and the altitude was something they hadn't been in lately. As the practice days wore on by the time the pro men raced down the hill the four-minute course was rough and beat up.
With ace mechanic Doug "Hatrick" Hatfield at the helm, the Carbon V-10's powered by SRAM, with Edge carbon wheels were keep in tip top condition. The super dry, dusty, rocky conditions with many pedaling sections made tire selection key. Greg had Maxxis Minion 2.7 front and a 2.5 High Roller cut to a semi slick. Steve's choice was Maxxis High Roller 2.5 front and High Roller semi-slick 2.35 in the rear.
Steve's preparation for his race run had him rolling on the ground before the start to dirty his jersey to remove the curse, as each race this year he has crashed wearing the jersey. In Leogang he decided to "crash" first before the start to get it out of the way and he did the same here. It seemed to work again and he had a fast run with a 4:06.5, 2 seconds faster than the fastest time in the seeding runs. He held the lead until Bryn Atkinson flew down crossing the line with a stunning 4:03.3.
Greg was next and came down absolutely smashing the times set by Bryn and Steve with a staggering 3:59.9 for the win!
Greg says, "The altitude was killer and so were the course conditions. I felt like I was riding through my mom's makeup bag! I knew it would be a physical race and I knew I had to pedal hard. I can feel it now and it was definitely well worth it."
Hacking with lung burn from the altitude Steve said, "It's been a swell weekend sucking thin air! I haven't raced a proper race in the US in years. I'm stoked to come back to the states and do a race here. Thanks to Hatrick for making my Carbon V-10 mint all week and I’m stoked to be on the podium with my teammate!"
Cedric had a fun time and it was only by chance that he was at the race. He had been in Las Vegas checking out the Rampage sight and Rob called and asked him to come up for the race. He was pleased with the race and said," For once I’m in the top five and for something I didn't plan to come to race it's been fun to hang out with the Syndicate family in Northstar."
The weekend ended with the entire Syndicate family and extended crew roller skating at the rink in the village having a few beers and a lot of laughs, and a few spills and bruises all for a good time.
PRO MEN DOWNHILL RESULTS:
1ST: GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:59.9
2ND: Bryn Atkinson 4:03.3
3rd: STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 4:06.5
4TH: CEDRIC GRACIA (BRIGADE, SANTA CRUZ) 4:07.3
5TH: Mitch Ropelato 4:07.4
Thanks to the Syndicate sponsors:
SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES
SRAM, ROCKSHOX, AVID, TRUVATIV
EDGE COMPOSITES
MAXXIS
CLIF BAR
MUC-OFF
LIZARD SKINS
WTB
CRANKBROTHERS
CHRIS KING
TROY LEE DESIGNS
GALBRAITH CHIROPRACTIC
FIVE TEN
