SYNDICATE’S GREG MINNAAR TAKES SECOND IN VAL DI SOLE, TIED
FOR OVERALL POINTS
JUNE 3, 2012
Commezzadura, Italy
Santa Cruz Syndicate riders joined forces with the Fox test
crew in Leogang, Austria after Greg’s win at the IXS downhill for a successful
test session. Greg, Steve and Josh were then
eager to race the World Cup in Italy on the new product! Greg managed to qualify 2nd and
finish 2nd to Aaron Gwin’s stellar winning run, while Steve came 14th
and Josh 37th after slipping a pedal and crashing. Greg ties Aaron for points and Steve is 10th
and Josh 17th in the overall standings.
It was stunning drive through the alps to get to Italy and
upon arrival we got to see our new awnings and van graphics which looked
amazing. After a few good meals and team
bonding the week was going well.
Here’s what the riders had to say about practice and their
race runs on this technical, gnarly track:
Steve Peat said, “I really enjoyed Val Di Sole race
weekend. We had a great atmosphere in
the pits. We just came off of a couple
of good days testing with Fox in Leogang and had my Santa Cruz V-10 set up
sweet! This track is always really tough
the first day. Everyone always thinks it’s
dangerous and really struggles to get their bike set up. I just ignored it though and learned the
track and didn’t worry about getting up to speed or setting my bike up.
I got everything dialed in for the qualifier on Saturday. I had a great run but knew I could lift my
game for finals. I was a little annoyed
with a small mistake that I made at the top which cost me a couple of seconds, but
overall I was happy with my speed on track and got a fairly solid result
considering how tight the times were.
Thanks to the Syndicate crew and all our Syndicate sponsors for the
great support on the weekend. Roll on
Ft. William!”
Josh comments: “I had a great weekend riding with Steve and
Greg. My preparation was great and I had
a good qualifier. Unfortunately I made a
silly mistake that caused a crash. which put me back in 37th. My bike felt amazing all week with the RAD
new Fox fork smoothing out the rough track!”
Pleased with his 2nd place result Greg says, “Practice
started off poor. I just couldn’t find
rhythm or anything on track. I really
struggled to get my bike set up. Ratty and
Steve pulled me in on the second day of training and I realized I was just
trying to ride too fast. My qualifier
result was great. I found myself
fumbling in the run missing lines and was too much on the brakes. On Saturday I was surprised by the arrival of
‘Dry Turtle’ and ‘B-Rad’ (Greg’s friends from South Africa, Lyle and
Brad). It’s always great having friends
come out and support me. Sunday my aim
was to stay on the bike, stay smooth and keep it real, which I managed to
do. A big hat’s off to Gwinny, that was
some of the most amazing riding I’ve seen!
It was great having the Fox family flood the podium!!”
On a sad note I'd like to acknowledge that our dear friend Cedric
Gracia suffered a major crash and had to be taken to the hospital where he
remained for nearly a week before he could be transported to a hospital in
France for surgery. Our heartfelt love and prayers go out to you
brother!!
The
organizers had a rider’s party and our Italian friends, “Mister” Rino and
Ingrid picked us up in the pits, as tradition has it, and took us to the beer
tent for fun and pranks. We had a blast
and the afternoon ended with a soccer game with the GT boys in the
pits. Good times!! Now in Fort William with first day of
practice tomorrow and the boys are ready to go!
Men’s Results
1 Aaron
Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing 0:03:10.577
2 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz
Syndicate 0:00:07.850
3 Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing 0:00:08.393
4 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing 0:00:08.937
5 Cameron Cole (NZl) Lapierre
International 0:00:09.743
6 Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory
Off-Road Team 0:00:10.318
7 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster
Energy-Specialized 0:00:10.500
8 Samuel Blenkinsop (NZl) Lapierre
International 0:00:11.308
10 Steve
Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing 0:00:11.392
14 Steve
Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:00:12.673
37 Josh
Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 0:00:20.128
Overall Standings:
1 Aaron Gwin (USA) Trek World Racing 450 pts
2 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz
Syndicate 450
3 Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing 315
4 Marc Beaumont (GBr) GT Factory Racing 228
5 Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global
Racing 215
6 Michael Hannah (Aus) Hutchinson United
Ride 209
7 Samuel Hill (Aus) Monster
Energy-Specialized 191
8 Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory
Off-Road Team 165
9 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Labyrinth Shimano
Racing Team 161
10 Steve
Peat (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 152
17 Josh
Bryceland (GBr) Santa Cruz Syndicate 130