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MINNAAR BIG AIR CAMP SUCCESS WITH PEATY AS SURPRISE GUEST
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March 20, 2008
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Courtesy: Mark Squire
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 former Downhill
World Cup Champion.
Wednesday evening was the opening night, pizza was
ordered and every body relaxed on got to know each
other. 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. The evening ended off
with Steve signing what ever the riders could find.
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. With riding only starting at 11 as the vehicle got stuck in the mud and even Peaty jumping in to help with some mud driving, Minnaar and the guys where soon on the course practicing sections in the mud starting from the top doing sections, picking of lines and technique to the bottom of the course. After lunch and the drinks supplied by USN for the camp the guys where off back to the hotel to dry up and have a well deserved dinner.
Friday Morning
Early 8:30 start again and the guys off to Cascades
downhill which is where the round of the SA Downhill
MTB Championship was going to be hosted 2 days later
and 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 correct way to
prepare for the race exactly how he would prepare for
a round in Europe or America. 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. He also said that was general bike setup
and you should not be scared to try different settings
to see if there are others more suited to your riding
style
Friday Evening
Dinner a casual braai and everyone going through what
was a good day and what they had learnt. Greg then
autographed cards, number boards and anything his
local SA fan base could find for him to sign.
Mike (Greg's Mechanic from Team G-Cross Honda) was
also there to share his experience with bike setup and
helped a lot of the guys find the right setting for
their riding style and gave some valuable tips on
general bike care.
14th - 16th of March 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 would bring in after spending
time and preparing correctly for their first race of
the year 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 shone and saw a 1st in three
different classes from riders that attended the camp.
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 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."
Thanks to the Syndicate Sponsors:
Santa Cruz Bicycles
SRAM
RockShox
Truvativ
Avid
Maxxis
DT Swiss
WTB
Crankbrothers
Lizard Skins
Clif Bar
Troy Lee Designs
Chris King
Five Ten
And Greg's personal sponsors:
Oakley
Alpinestars
OGK Helmets
Gamut USA
Squire Industries
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