Double Podium For Greg Minnaar at World Cup Opener

04.06.2003

Former World Cup Champion Greg Minnaar opened his account at the 2003 World Cup this past weekend with a double podium that also saw him scoop his first ever win in the 4X discipline. Greg who is now riding for the Haro Lee Dungarees Team also finished 4th in the Downhill here at the triple World Cup in Fort William giving him a solid start in his bid to once again win the title he scored in 2001.

The win at round 1 in the 4X obviously gives Greg the UCI World Cup leader's jersey which he gets to wear for round 2 of the series, in Alpe d'Huez (FRA) this weekend. This is something he's never had the chance to do as he won the overall in the Downhill in the final event of the 2001 season.

"I'm really looking forward to wearing the jersey this weekend and giving my best shot at holding the overall. I feel pretty bad for the injured guys from Fort William, mainly Brian (Lopes) and Peaty, and I wish them a speedy recovery," said Greg on Saturday night shortly after the win.

Greg managed to pass through to the finals with an equal number of 1st and 2nd places in his heats, and found himself up against 3 of the best riders in the discipline. "I saw that the two guys that would probably be fastest out of the gate and challenging for the lead straight up would be EC (Eric Carter) and Michal Prokop so I decided to try and keep high in the first turn in case there was a bit of carnage. I didn't expect Peaty to get tangled up in their battle too, but keeping clear gave me the win."

Greg races this weekend in Alpe d'Huez France, June 7 and 8.

Further information:

www.gregminnaar.com

Martin Whiteley
Director
23 Degrees Sports Management
captain23@23degrees-sports.com
www.23degrees-sports.com