Mountain Biking

Minnaar Wins UCI World Cup Downhill In Ft. William

E365> MTB - Sunday June 15 2008

E365 -- It was a great day for the Santa Cruz Syndicate team in Ft. William, Scotland recently as they took all three spots on the podium at the UCI World Cup Downhill. Greg Minnaar showed he's well and truly back from his shoulder injury with his first place finish, whilst Steve Peat and Nathan Rennie rounded out the Santa Cruz top three with second and third respectively.

The excitement was building as thousands of spectators watched the big screen and lined the course with the tunes blaring, announcers pumping up the crowd and Josh Bryceland back in action taking the hot seat with a 4:57.13.

His stint in the hot seat barely started when Marc Beaumont bumped him out. Twenty riders later Rennie was on track and the leader board showed he was 3 seconds faster on the split time than the leader and he moved into the hot seat with a 4:48.19. The crowd went mental when Peat came on the big screen. Peat bumped Rennie from the hot seat and they made the exchange joyfully. Minnaar was the last man down the hill and his split time showed he was on target for the win. He did not disappoint as he blasted across the finish line winning by 3.17 seconds amidst thousands of cheers.

The podium presentation was jubilant for the Syndicate. Peaty came in from stage right sliding on his knees, then Minnaar was presented with a sword engraved for the 100th World Cup Downhill and he whacked off the top of the champagne bottle, literally with cork and glass flying.