‹‹ Home : News : Minnaar Big Air Camp Succes with Peaty
Email to a friend |
Print version |
Comments (0 posted)
|
|
Minnaar Big Air Camp Succes with Peaty
March 24,2008
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 current 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.
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 Nathan and 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."
Did you enjoy this article?
129 times read
|
|
Comments (0 posted)
Users opinion:
|
|
Portal DH-zone.com doesn't take responsibility for users comments, which are their own opinions.
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 K.Bennett first at the 2008 Oceania Champs
 Nelson, New Zealand (March 20, 2008) Kieran Bennett hit a major milestone in his short racing career, by capturing the 2008 UCI Oceania Championship Downhill Title this past weekend in front of his hometown crowd of... [ more ] 24.03.2008 |
 |
|
Blenkinsop first At Round 1 in New Zealand
 Sam Blenkinsop (Gravity Group) got the better half of a near dead heat with Justin Leov (Yeti/Fox Factory) at the opening round of national downhill racing season in New Zealand. The 2008 season ... [ more ] 19.12.2007 |
|
|
Anne Caroline Chausson in Vario team
 French rider, Anne Caroline Chausson, multiple World Champion signed a 2 years contract with Vario. Besides racing, Anne will promote Vario and take part in new frame designs. She will start her tr... [ more ] 27.11.2007 |
|
|
Corsair Bikes and the new distributors
 Seattle, WA - November 19, 2007 - The team behind Corsair Bikes, the new bicycle brand from Seattle, WA has come up for air after a busy autumn tradeshow season, where they met with both dealers and potential intern... [ more ] 20.11.2007 |
|
|
Michael Hannah - 2008 Ride Plans
 We just read a press release from official website of the australian rider – Mick Hannah. It looks like a Mick decided to take a short brake and consider his future as a pro downhill mountain biker. Below you ... [ more ] 15.11.2007 |
|
|
Fairclough Wins Last Race On The Honda
 Back in 2004, Greg Minnaar took delivery of his European race bike, the Honda RN01, and went to a local race in Spain. It was a round of the Andalucian Cup held in the southern coastal town of Motril. The race was covered by Dirt Ma... [ more ] 15.11.2007 |
|
|
2008 Alpine Bikes Winter DH Series (Scotland)
 Si Paton on Alpine Bikes - This is fantastic news for all the racers out there as having Alpine Bikes onboard as the main sponsor means we can run a race series for the riders and spectators in Scotland! Alpine Bikes are Scotland&rs... [ more ] 14.11.2007 |
|
|
New Kona 2008 custom bikes
 KONA has prepared new custom models for 2008, signed with their team racers names including custom painted suspension forks, seats and other details. Check out the photos of their newest models: ... [ more ] 13.11.2007 |
|
|
Best events of the 2007 Nissan UCI World Cup
 As is the tradition, everyone involved in the Mountain Bike World Cup voted for the best 2007 event. Prize winning riders and teams, journalists and UCI sponsors had their say and elected Houffalize, Schladming and Villabassa the be... [ more ] 12.11.2007 |
|
|
New EVO KNEE protector from SixSixOne
 Sixsixone is ahead of the pack with their new „EVO KNEE” protector using revolutionary D30 technology. The D30 material is a special material built of “intelligent” molecule... [ more ] 12.11.2007 |
|
|
NEMA Flash Calalog Online!
 NEMA International - Check it out!! We’ve just added a FLASH catalog to our website (www.nemabrand.com)! There are a few items shown in the catalog, but not listed on our website - Breather Gloves, Podium DH G... [ more ] 02.11.2007 |
|
|
|
 | |  | | FORUM - little chat about mountaing biking. Check it out!
Forum users:
- registered: 82
- on-line: 0
Number of all topics: 15
All posts: 30
Last updated topics: |
|
|
|
Shimano Europe group announces that a contract has been signed for the acquisition of their Polish Distributor for Bicycle Components, R & P Pawlak, located in Poznan. Beside the fact that becau... 
