Team Santa Cruz Syndicate At 2012 Round 1 World Cup
HUGE WIN IN FOR MR. MINN AND THE SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE AT WORLD CUP OPENER!! from santa cruz bikes on Vimeo.
ietermaritzburg, South Africa
March 18, 2012
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. It’s a great feeling to do well in front of all my family and friends and their support is amazing!”
Steve comments, “Another great weekend racing in Maritzburg. The fans and the onelife crew made it an awesome weekend, and I feel privileged that it was my 100th World Cup start. Luckily the track dried out and made the racing fast and tight. Although I wasn’t too happy with my 15th place result, I was over the moon for Greg. He dug deep and took the win for the home crowd!!”
Josh placed 21st and said, “After a hard winter training I don’t feel I quite did myself justice on my race run, but I left it all on the hill and the bike feels better than ever. I’m really happy for Greg, not only just with the win in his hometown, but starting the season with a win and full points. Also good to see Peaty Dog still has a little bit of fire in him, as always.”
The win makes Greg’s 16th World Cup win (11 on Santa Cruz) and is his 53rd World Cup Downhill podium, (besting Steve’s 52 podiums). Greg now leads the World Cup overall with 250 points over Aaron Gwin’s 200 points. Steve is 14th in the standings and Josh is 17th. Greg will be in the leader jersey going into the next World Cup in Val Di Sole, Italy in May.
MEN’S ELITE RESULTS:
1ST GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:57.98
2nd Aaron Gwin 3:58.61
3rd Mick Hannah 3:58.97
4th Gee Atherton 4:02.36
5th Steve Smith 4:02.41
6th Jared Graves 4:02.78
7th Andrew Neethling 4:02.99
8th Troy Brosnan 4:03.58
9th Julian Camellini 4:03.65
10th Cedric Gracia (Brigade, Santa Cruz) 4:03.81
15th STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 4:05.65
21ST JOSH BRYCELAND (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 4:07.37
MEN’S OVERALL STANDINGS
1ST GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 250
2nd Aaron Gwin 200
3rd Mick Hannah 160
4th Gee Atherton 150
5th Steve Smith 140
6th Jared Graves 111
7th Troy Brosnan 107
8th Andrew Neethling 105
9th Cedric Gracia (Brigade, Santa Cruz) 93
10th Aurellien Giordanengo 85
14th STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 80
17 JOSH BRYCELAND (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 68
THANKS TO THE SYNDICATE SPONSORS:
SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES
SHIMANO
FOX
ENVE COMPOSITES
MAXXIS
CLIF BAR
MUC-OFF
LIZARD SKINS
WTB
CHRIS KING
BIRZMAN
Gore® RideOn™ Cable Systems
FOXHEAD
Answer Negative One Stem Review
Answer has been producing Handlebars for a long time. We have been running their Dorado fork for well over a year now and it has been brilliant. Getting the chance to test their -One Direct Mount Stem was something we were looking forward to.
- Weight: 160gm
- Stack Height: -20mm
- Length: 50-55mm
- Material: 7075 Series Alloy
- Colors: Black, White
- Hardware: A2 Stainless
- Note: Will Not fit Dorado Flat crown in 50mm Setting
- Faceplate: 62mm Wide
The Negative One stem showed up and proved to be a good piece. It has clean lines and the finish on it is better then some and not quite as nice as some high end options out there. We weighed the stem and our scale read 158GM so their claimed weight seems spot on.
Having your weight more over the front wheel is all the rage these days. With slacked out head angles and LSC loaded forks body english is more important than ever. This stem is light weight with a simple design and does as it claims.
2012 UCI World Cup Announces Red Bull As Official Media Partner
The International Cycling Union (UCI) is delighted to confirm that the Red Bull Media House GmbH (RBMH) is the new official media partner of the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano.
Under this new partnership, RBMH will provide media services including HD TV production, webcasting and content syndication. Live streaming of all the World Cup Cross-country Olympic, Cross- country Eliminator and Downhill races will be featured onwww.redbull.com/bike and www.redbull.tv. The UCI and RBMH will collaborate closely to ensure that coverage of these events will be more dynamic, innovative and viewer-friendly, providing fans with unforgettable images of racing action.
'WITH RBMH ON BOARD, WE CAN BE SURE THAT TOP QUALITY IMAGES OF THIS SERIES CAN REACH FANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD' – PAT MCQUAID, UCI PRESIDENT
RBMH will produce the official international live signal as well as highlight programmes that the UCI will provide to TV channels on all continents. Overall TV production will be improved with High Definition images and an increased number of cameras at events.
RBMH, which replaces Freecaster.tv as exclusive live streaming partner, will also hold worldwide non-exclusive internet rights to the UCI BMX World Championships as well as selected media rights in certain territories for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.
UCI President Mr Pat McQuaid welcomes the latest partner for the new-look mountain bike series: “The RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano has been given a boost for 2012, and with RBMH on board, we can be sure that top quality images of this series can reach fans throughout the world. This exciting World Cup series deserves innovative media coverage of the highest standard. With RBMH we have found the perfect solution. This new partnership can only serve to further develop our leading mountain bike series.”
2012 VP Components Dirt Club Enduro Announced
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SANTA BARBARA, CA., (February 17, 2012) – The VP Components Dirt Club Enduro will be an awesome and exciting test of speed, skill and endurance for mountain bike enthusiasts of all levels. This two day event promises to be an exhilarating and rewarding adventure for all.
The VP Components Dirt Club Enduro format will be based loosely on WRC Auto Rally and European MTB Enduros. Our event will feature predominantly downhill timed special stages linked together by non-timed liaison stages. Each rider will complete the courses on the same bike without shuttles or lifts, riding along through check-points to the start of each timed special stage.
This is an event that is all about having fun and riding your bike fast. The top athlete in each category will be the fastest and most skillful bike handler for sure. There will be a mix of pure Downhill type tracks, Super D tracks, and XC descents. And because the riders will have to ride the liaison to the start of each timed stage, there will also be a strong fitness element to this race. There will be cash payout in the Open/Expert Men and Women categories and high value prizes at least 10 deep in every category.
The DIRT CLUB near Los Olivos, CA is a private location for mountain biking enthusiasts to enjoy their sport in a safe location completely removed from other trail users, this is a 100% conflict free riding area. With downhill trails, super d trails, a dual slalom course, a 12 mile cross country course, an ever expanding pump track, a new DJ line, and miles of dirt double track ranching roads, countless opportunities are provided for riders of all abilities to explore and have fun. This venue has hosted various MTB races the past 12 years, including the Santa Ynez Valley Classic leg of the US TRIPLE CROWN SERIES.
The Stages:
SESSION 1 features two laps of a 10 mile loop with 4 special stages per lap for a total of 20 miles and 8 timed special stages. The special stages will all be short in duration, ranging from high-speed less technical trails, to short downhill and super d tracks with berms, jumps, and drops. We expect this to be a 2-2.5 hour day.
SESSION 2 (Night racing) will require each competitor to have a light and will cover a 6 mile loop with 2 timed special stages. The special stages will be held on tight and fast descending cross-country single track that we expect to run around 3 minutes in duration each.
SESSION 3 will be the big day that likely decides the winners over a 10 mile course with two timed special stages. This will be essentially a two run Super D on the Dirt Club’s new Super D Flow Trail. The Super D Flow Trail features two short climbs, berms, pump features, jumps, drops, and even a big sender for 15-20 minutes per run.
*All courses can be ridden by riders of all ability levels and there are slower beginner options for challenging features.
For additional information on the event, see the event website; www.vp-usa.com/enduro
Bicycle, Mountain Bike |
Smooth Is Fast
There is a saying that has been around since cyclist took to the dirt. It still holds true after all these years riding. Riding the Ross bike back in the day it held true. Getting serious into Mountain Biking and riding a Specialized Stumpjumper Comp made out of Steel in the States it held true as well. My next bike was when I began to build descending skills more and it was a Gary Fisher AL-1. This was an Aluminum tubed XC bike that was mid range but at that point I thought I had my hands on a Ferrari.
The Litespeed Obed saw many miles crunched into it. I had that bike for about two years. I sold it eventually and took some time off. Then in 1996 I bought a Specialized FSR Elite. It was my first foray into full suspension. The meaning of the original term became somewhat muddier while riding around with suspension to absorb my mistakes. Once the speeds increased and the trails became rougher then it once again rang true.
I had that bike until lat 1999 and then in early 2000 I got an Orange Patriot LT. The bike was wicked, stiff, light, responsive and stuck like glue. It was a whole new level of bicycle for me. My first real ride on it was down a few trails in Santa Barbara. So it may have had 6.5" of rear travel but the big rocks still made the old saying true.
Since 2000 I have had over 15 different bikes and almost every one was of the Downhill variety. Sometimes out on the trail things just flow together like water over rocks and that trail with the knee high rocks feels like a sidewalk. Your mind drifts away and the decades of riding and fast muscle memory take control. So next time you are out on a ride look for the smooth lines, ride loose, lay off the brakes and glide. It's as if you are in a dream and it feels oh so smooth and oh so fast.
