To call the 2008 mountain bike season of newly anointed World Cup Champion Greg Minnaar successful would be a tremendous understatement. Today Greg added yet another exclamation point to his racing dominance by capturing a title at the second leg of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Bike Series held at The Canyons in Park City, Utah, USA.
Despite facing one of the deepest fields in Jeep mountain bike history and intermittent rain showers that impacted the surface of the racecourse, South Africa's Minnaar swept the competition without losing a heat, a feat all but unheard of since the event’s inception.
Minnaar, with three World Cup Championships and a World Championship under his belt by age 26, began the day with a win over Open Qualifier Cameron McCaul of Santa Cruz, California. Waiting in the second round was team mate Steve Peat, himself a three-time World Cup Champion, thus demonstrating the level of competition battling for the title. Minnaar swept past his good friend and rival to reach the semi-finals against Colorado's Petr Hanak, where he won in straight races to reach the finals.
In the championship heat, Minnaar faced off against World Champion and three-time World Cup race winner Eric Carter of Temecula, California. In the finals, Minnaar outran the veteran Carter in both runs to earn the title. Hanak topped Warren in the consolation heat to earn the final podium spot.
Greg - "This year I have had great success in dual slalom competitions, having already won two of them," said Minnaar. "I really wanted to win this one, and I pushed hard. When you add up the three World Cup race wins and the overall World Cup Titlep, plus three dual slalom wins, this has been a solid year for sure."
The prize purse for Jeep 48STRAIGHT tops $100,000 with additional bonuses from sponsor Paul Mitchell. Greg took home a cool $5,000 for the win, with cash earnings for each finisher through to 16th place. Points are awarded during each race, and the overall series champion will receive the keys to a new Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Each event of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT summer season receives national broadcast coverage on CBS Sports, representing the most visibility of any mountain biking event in the sport in the US. The event at The Canyons will air on CBS Sports on Oct. 12.