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Minnaar Takes Podium at World Cup 1

2.5.2005

The 2005 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup kicked off this weekend on the Atlantic coast of Spain, on the outskirts of the city of Vigo, in front of an estimated 25,000 spectators over the weekend. The Downhill race today saw Greg Minnaar (RSA) take the podium with a strong 2nd place finish, and young newcomer to the team Matti Lehikoinen (FIN) finishing an impressive 7th, just 0.3secs off the podium.

Vigo is a new venue for the World Cup circuit and the course proved very popular among the top riders who found the roughly two and half minutes of trail, just a few kilometres from the city centre, to be an excellent mix of speed and technical terrain. Known for mixed weather at this time of the year, and after a week of rain the week before the event, the training in Vigo took place in near perfect conditions. Timed training on Saturday saw Greg with the 3rd fastest time and Matti 4th, and this was to set the tone for the semi final today.

Today saw the return of the rain in the morning and a change in the course. Due to the slippery conditions the race officials eliminated a large rocky section that had already caused World Champion Fabien Barel to crash in training earlier in the week. The riders then by-passed this section, which slowed them by a few seconds but otherwise the course was ideal for racing, as the sun came out later in the day.

The first race of the season is always difficult, as the riders don't always know where they stand with their main opponents, both in physical and technical preparation. With a month until Round 2 in Germany, the main goal for both Greg and Matti was to score solid points and get the World Cup campaign off to a smooth start. With 50 points up for grabs in the semi final both riders went for solid runs. Greg finished 3rd with a time of 2m 36.303secs, and amazingly, Matti finished just 1/1000th of a second behind Greg with 2m 36.304secs, for a 4th place. This gave both riders strong points and set the scene for the final.

For the final the course had dried out even more and both riders opted for dry tyres despite Matti having used semi-mud tyres for the semi final race. Matti finished the final with a strong time of 2m 33.492secs taking nearly 3 seconds off his morning time. Greg then came down the course and took Sam Hill, 2004 World Cup 2nd placed rider, out of the hot seat with the fastest time of the day at 2m 28.668secs. The time wasn't beaten by the next rider Mick Hannah however 2004 World Cup Champion Steve Peat once again showed how strong he could be at the start of the season with an impressive 2m 25.791secs. This meant that Greg's 2nd in the final, and his 3rd in the semi final, secured him a strong 2nd overall in the Series thus far. Matti's 4th in the semi final, and his eventual 7th in the final, means that he now stands 6th in the World Cup overall, his best ever standing in the series.

Team G Cross Honda is also, for the first time, the leading UCI team in Downhill competition.

* #9 Greg Minnaar (2nd Place)
"I'm incredibly happy with this result. I came to this event a little tired from training so I wasn't sure I could be as fast as I was today, so this is a great result for me. I have some work to do to bridge the gap to Peaty, and that will be my main goal for Round 2 in Willingen, in about a month from now. The new version of the RN01 bike was great today, and especially with some of our new components on board for this season. The race too was a great success, the fans were really into the racing and that always makes the day just a bit more special."

* #11 Matti Lehikoinen (7th Place)
"I was a little uncertain when I switched from wet to dry tyres, not knowing exactly how the bike would handle, so I was a bit conservative in the first part of the course during the final, and I think that cost me half a second, but I'm really happy to know that I'm so close to the podium already. My semi final run was great and considering where I am with my physical preparation right now, I'm really looking forward to the main part of the season, in June and July."

* Team Director Martin Whiteley
"Both riders performed above expectation this week and so that is always a welcome result. The bikes were flawless and this is mainly due to the tireless efforts of the mechanics and engineers who did a great job in the days leading up to this race. We have some improving to do before Round 2, but already we are very happy with 2nd and 6th in the overall, and to have the lead in the UCI Team Ranking."

Semi Final Results:
Pos. No. Name Team Time
1 1 Steve Peat Team Orange 2:33.477
2 36 Mick Hannah Haro Bikes 2:35:169
3 9 Greg Minnaar Team G Cross Honda 2:36.303
4 11 Matti Lehikoinen Team G Cross Honda 2:36.304
5 2 Sam Hill Iron Horse Mad Catz 2:37.797

Final Results:
Pos. No. Name Team Time
1 1 Steve Peat Team Orange 2:25.791
2 9 Greg Minnaar Team G Cross Honda 2:28.668
3 2 Sam Hill Iron Horse Mad Catz 2:30.387
4 36 Mick Hannah Haro Bikes 2:30:398
5 3 Nathan Rennie Santa Cruz Syndicate 2:33.184
6 8 Fabien Barel Kona Les Gets 2:33.212
7 11 Matti Lehikoinen Team G Cross Honda 2:33.492
8 5 Mickael Pascal Maxxis-MSC 2:34.580
9 7 Gee Atherton Animal Giant 2:35.132
10 42 Bryn Atkinson GT Hyundai 2:35.649

World Cup Overall Standings

Pos. No. Name Team Points
1 1 Steve Peat Team Orange 250
2 9 Greg Minnaar Team G Cross Honda 190
3 36 Mick Hannah Haro Bikes 165
4 2 Sam Hill Iron Horse Mad Catz 160
5 3 Nathan Rennie Santa Cruz Syndicate 125
6 11 Matti Lehikoinen Team G Cross Honda 115
7 7 Gee Atherton Animal Giant 97
8 8 Fabien Barel Kona Les Gets 97
9 5 Mickael Pascal Maxxis-MSC 97
10 19 Oscar Saiz Giant Racing Team 84

Greg also participated in his first 4X World Cup since 2003, on his new bike, which was built by Honda, and is branded as a "GM" special edition bike, which is allowing Greg to race 4X in 2005. Greg qualified 14th and managed to finish 13th on his comeback ride, and put on some huge jumps during training which pleased the thousands of Spanish fans.

The team now heads to Lisbon for a street race, before preparing for World Cup Round 2 in Willingen, Germany, on June 4th.

For more info:

Martin Whiteley
CEO/Director
23 Degrees Sports Management S.L.
mailto:captain23@23degrees-sports.com
www.23degrees-sports.com