Greg Minnaar/Mongoose DH series #5 - Giba Gorge - 17 July 2011

Over a month had past since the national at cascades and it was now the turn towards provincial series again. The track at Giba Gorge had gone under some renovations and the super fun track was now looking sweet. Myself and some friends traveled down from Pietermaritzburg to Giba Gorge the day before the race and got some good riding in on the new track. It was flowing a lot better than before and I was loving every moment of the time spent on the course.

Switch Back corners during practice

When race day arrived on Sunday, the vibe was awesome. The last provincial of the year and a lot of work had gone into the track. Nigel Hicks and his team of guys fixed up the track and made sure it was race ready. I squeezed in a good couple of practice runs before racing started, found some sweet lines and was ready to race. Practice did claim a few riders though, some nearly escaping what Giba can throw at them and some having to unfortunately abandon the race.

The entrance into the last flat rock garden

When the race runs started, it was back to the usual at the top of the track. The jokers of the downhill fraternity always causing trouble and giving us a good laugh, and some have their game faces on. As we watched some of the downhillers ride the first section time past rather quickly and before I knew it I was warming up and getting ready to race. Sitting in the start gate waiting for the count down seems like a life time, but when the gate drops its as if your run goes by in a split second. My first race run was not a good one, I was bogged down in a rock garden and lost a second or two. I pushed on to be placed 3rd junior.

The entrance into the last flat rock garden

My second race run started off super pinned. I was feeling a lot better than my first run but still had some problems on the super tight corners. I lost valuable time and came down to the finish line to still finish 3rd junior but my time had still improved. I was less than a second off second place, but I was still very happy to finish the Greg Minnaar/Mongoose DH series on a good note.

The step up in the Quarry

A big thanks must go out to Nigel Hicks and Dave Dinkleman and their team of guys that helped build the tracks this season. The tracks were awesome. Another thanks to Morne Odendaal for putting the season together.

S.A national Cup #3 - Pietermaritzburg - 5 June 2011

After a proud result at the last provincial, it was now time for the third national to be held in Pietermaritzburg on the world cup track. The course was hard pack, rolling EXTREMELY fast and it was a real bundle of fun! After a long awaited time off of the national scene, almost a month, I was excited to do some racing.

Corkscrew Gap

After getting sick just after my previous race, training posed a problem. I still wasn't hundred percent better but I needed to do well in order to try get selected for world champs. Practice arrived on Friday and I got straight into it. The track was feeling awesome and I was super stoked to be riding my Morewood Kalula, it was the perfect bike for the job and it was handling really nicely. The track Started just below cloud nine and just before the big rock and pebble beach. I couldn't wait for race day! Saturdays practice was awesome. Mother Nature finally decided to make up her mind and keep the weather nice and hot.

Berm after A-frame Road Gap

Race day had arrived and I was super keen to race, first up we had the seeding runs. My seeding run wasn't bad at all but I wasn't happy with it, I had no energy to pedal the long flat section and to keep a constant pace through the flat section. I was seeded as third junior and was eager to see if I could keep the same pace in my race run.

Hip Jump into a rock garden

After I had refueled, relaxed a little bit and done a warm up I was in the start gate and ready for my race run. The run started off really well, I was keeping a good pace and hadn't made any mistakes. I then reached a section called driftage, the name gives it all away and you can guess what happened after that. I drifted off course and lost all speed that I needed to get up a short little hill. Through the flat section I just didn't have the legs on the day and i was struggling to keep my speed constant. At the end of the day I was still third junior, and happy with what I had achieved.

Junior men podium: 1st - Alasdair Fey. 2nd - Adi Van Der Merwe. 3rd  - Kyle Davids

Thanks to the race organizers, Morne Odendaal and her crew for putting on the event. It was awesome!

Greg Minnaar/Mongoose DH series #4 - Rico Racing Track - 22 May 2011

Myself and a few other local riders put in some effort to build this super fun track a few weekends before the race took place. Super short shuttle meant we could ride a lot, get in the good practice and have an absolute blast! The track was flat out, it had some blew out berms, fast sweeping course and was really dry. It was a tough track to try and keep it all together on. I had done all the practice needed, and all that was left was to do was to let it all lay down on the track.

First Practice Run

My first practice run down the track on race day was solid in all sections except one. A long sweeping left hander caught me out when I came in to hot, I hugged a baby Gumtree and snapped it in half. A bit rattled after that I sat back and relaxed with the rest of the guys down at the bottom. It was then time to start the race run, I made my way to the top found some shade and about 20 minutes before my start I started my warm up.

Feeling good and in the start gate, the countdown started. I put in a few big pedal strokes, got my momentum and started to hit the fast open corners. I got to the corner where I had crashed earlier and backed off, I really didn't want to throw away a good race run. I got down to the bottom, my run had a few small mistakes and they all added up. I was in the top 5 overall and the 4th junior-a very good result for me, but I was determined to finish 3rd junior and I had a solid time on the board so decided to push it around the long sweeping left hander and try to correct my mistakes.

Second Race Run

We were on our way back to the top of the track for our next run. I found my chill spot in the shade again and relaxed,supported some fellow riders then went to warm up again. I was a few minutes later back in the start gate. The gate dropped and I sprinted my way down towards the sweeping corners. I fully committed and trusted my bike to handle the fast growing breaking bumps, and it did. I railed the corners and berms and soon found myself at the bottom sections where spectators were flocking. The Morewood Kalula took the last rock garden with ease and I was across the line. I moved into 3rd junior after beating team mate Sam Bull and I moved into fourth overall. I was over the moon with my first top 5 finish.


A big thanks must go to Dave "Rico" Dinkleman and everyone else who helped make the awesome track. To Andre from Rush Sports for helping out with the last minute bike fixing, thanks so much!

S.A national Cup #2 - Port Elizabeth - 8 May 2011

The second round of the 2011 national cup series was held in Loerie, about 70km outside of Port Elizabeth. Another rainy race except this time it actually didn't stop raining. Fridays practice was relatively wet and it showed when I committed to a rock drop at the finish area, slipped on something and ended up on my head. I used the tuck and roll method, and it worked when I narrowly escaped being whacked in the head by my bike.

The course was a fun one! It had a few small jumps, some off camber corners with a few protruding Allow trees that were close to your head on every corner. It had some sweet rock gardens that were tricky too, all in all I enjoyed the track, but unfortunately the rain carried on all through Friday night, all through Saturday night and it was said that it was the most rainfall they had had in over 10 years. So the race organizers announced that the race would be cancelled because the medics couldn't access the area if anyone was to get hurt. Sad faces everywhere, we made our way back to P.E, packed up and made our way home.

UCI World Cup Round One - Pietermaritzburg - 22 April 2011

My dream of racing against my hero's of Downhill Mountain biking had finally arrived and with it, some awesome weather! The sun had been out the entire week while the course was busy getting rebuilt and when it was time for the track walk on the Wednesday my excitement levels were sky rocketing. I had never been in such a state of excitement, and I'm sure many were feeling the same way as me. With all this excitement I still somehow spotted a line or two and was super amped to start practice.

Thursday had arrived and it was time to live my dream. I managed to get in a few solid runs and in the mix of it all I had Patrick Morewood tweak my rear suspension between my practice runs. The bike was feeling super smooth down the course and was taking the forming braking bumps with absolute ease. I finished all my practicing in the morning and went home to get prepped for the qualifying the next day.

Bike washed, looking brand new and feeling brand new I was confident for the qualifying run that was dawning on me. On the shuttle up to the top, it was absolute silence. I was keeping hydrated and keeping cool and in a few minutes I was going to let it all loose on the track, but a run down Cascades World Cup Track is one that definitely needs a warm up. And so I warmed up on the district road running through Garlington, nerves were overwhelming but I was ready.

Warmed up and in the start gate, I put my goggles on waited for the countdown and when I was ready I left the gate. I pedaled to my needed speed and into the first corner I felt my front wheel catch one root, a second one, and third one and then I eventually washed out and slammed into the ground. Covered in dirt, chain off my chain ring and deraileur slightly bent I got up ran with my bike and jumped on. I pedaled a few times changing gears to try and put my chain back on properly, it worked and I was on my way. It didn't really seem to me that anything more could go wrong, so I pinned it as fast as I could. I reached the pedaling section and tried to keep my momentum up. Barely holding on down the last few sections of the track with the big jumps and feeling the cramp in my hands I hit the finish line jump and sprinted my way through to the finish line. Was that as far as I would go in this years world cup? The time showed it, and I was 91st.

Riding in the World Cup with my hero's of the sport was definitely the highlight of my career. Even though I didn't qualify I had never had such an experience on my bike. I really wish I could have qualified but I will have to give it another try next year!

HUGE thanks to Andre from Rushsports  and to Patrick Morewood for helping me out with all the suspension set-ups, fine tuning of the brakes and for being there to support! Your support goes along way.  

S.A national Cup #1 - Cascades World Cup track - 17 April 2011

The first of the National series races was to be held at Cascades, on the World cup track. To make things even better, it was only a week before the World Cup and so there were a lot of international riders. Most of the being the ones who want to take the win in the final at the World Cup, so they were all riders I look up to. I was excited to get back on the Morewood for another muddy race, Yip... it was raining all week and the course got trashed.

The weekend started off with rain, some mist, professional athletes and A LOT of mud. My first run up was with Arron Gwinn, and it was so surreal to be talking to him! Pedaling became the biggest task to do on the track. The thick mud didn't make for easy riding, but I always enjoy the mud. I managed to get in a few solid runs and decided to pack up and get my stuff ready for race day.

The rain continued all through the night and in the morning it was a little drizzly, but mostly just overcast. The race organizers decided it was going to be safer to call off the full track scheduled to be raced and only race from just above the gully. Seeding runs started and it was now pouring with rain. I managed to stay on my bike and get seeded as 3rd junior, ahead of team mate Sam Bull and a number of other juniors who along with myself, really struggled to keep momentum down the track. It was time to grab some food, get some juice and relax a while before the race. We got up to the start point after a rally car session and then it was decided to call the race off. One by one we rode down the track, and formed a train just after the 2 table tops and then rode down the rest of the track from there.

Results were on everyone's mind. And it seemed like they were going to take the seeding runs times which I wasn't to phased about as its in the rule book and so it stood. I couldn't wait for the following weekend. The UCI MTB World Cup!

Thanks to Adrenaline Cycles and Andre from Rushsports for helping out at the race!

KARKLOOF CLASSIC DH RACE

The Karkloof mountain bike festival held in the picturesque area of Karkloof, just outside of Howick is one of the  biggest MTB festivals in South Africa. With its beautiful setting of flowing hills, green grass, awesome cross country trails and now for the first time-a downhill track! We didn't really know what to expect until we actually rode the track, and it wow'd a lot of people.

A few days before race day, and nature decided she was not going to let us not have the mud factor to deal with. So on came the mud spiked tires and out came the rain jacket, for yet another race. The rain carried on until the night before race day,  and when race day finally dawned, out came the sun!... Yup, the weather man was stuffing us around BIG TIME.

I decided to leave my mud spiked tires on for my first practice run, and the track was becoming so tacky and awesome to ride. The series of 15 or so corners in the open area were running good and the only moderately slippy part of the track was in the pine forest section. So on came my dry weather tires and I headed up for one last run before I had my timed seeding run.

My seeding run was super fun, it was a clean run without any problems so I was stoked about that. I was keen to race but wasn't phased about what my result would be because my main goal for this race was just to have fun and finish without any injuries before my biggest race yet. The UCI MTB world cup held in Pietermaritzburg.

So with that in mind, I started my race run and just had a good time. Railing the burms at the middle bit of the course, doing the big road gap and hitting the rock gardens was all just a lot of fun. I finished my run and was a little surprised when Steve Jackson had crashed out and I was the first junior.

1st : Kyle Davids
2nd : Sam Bull
3rd : Gregg Brown

All in all, it was a great event and I hope they have it again next year.
A big thanks to the race organizers and Adrenaline Cycles for everything!

 

Greg Minnaar & Mongoose KZN provincial #3

This past weekend saw the running of the third Greg Minnaar/Mongoose KZN Provincial in Cascades, Pietermaritzburg. The organizers decided to just run the top half of the World Cup track, which would be the steeper and more technical, but less pedally half. I had plenty of practice and was feeling really good about the up coming race. The more I practiced the better I was feeling on my Morewood Kalula. On the last and final day of practice, I made the decision to give the second table top a try, it went better than I expected and things were looking good for race day, all I could do now was pray for no rain and get a good night sleep.


So on Saturday night it ended up raining and it was a rush to change to mud tires. I changed the front tire and when moving on the back one I discovered that the rear axle was stripped... so it was a mud tire on the front for me and there was nothing to do about the rear tire. Myself and my dad headed up to the n3 table tops where the race would be finishing and I got myself ready for the first practice run. I came down the track, still reasonably clean but also pretty dirty. After my first run I only had one thing to say, "the track is prime!". My combination of only having a mud on the front seemed to be working and I felt really good on my Morewood Kalula. I was struggling however to find my rhythm on the gully and the n3 tables, so before my race run I pushed back up and got it as fast as I could and cleared the jumps and was now ready to race.


First Race Run: My first race run started off really well, I took off out of the start gate, cranked up a few gears and kept my momentum throught the top section, I came onto the first road and pedaled into the fast gumtree section followed by a small road gap before a burm that turns into where the old World Cup track started. Cloud nine wasn't too slick but was also not as is usually is and after I managed it through there I road through pebble beach faster than ever, the rest of the track from just after super tube section was all pretty much a blur as it is the fastest part of the upper half of the World Cup track. The only thing I can really gather was being in the air for so long on the second table top that I freaked out and pulled my brakes throwing me off balance, despite that, I raced to the finish line to secure my place as the first junior but there was still one more junior to come down. I sat in the hot seat until I was told to leave for my next run, while going up in Mr Dinklemans bakkie I heard on the radio that Tim Bentley had knocked me off the red bull hot seat and that Tiaan Odendaal had taken the top spot in the juniors men category for now. Six seconds seemed to be so little but in actual fact it is quite the gap to close down. I was however comfortable with my second place.


Second Race Run: The second race run for many was not as good as the first one. One definite problem on the second race run was the mist that was so thick that it was really hard to see where you were going. Everyone put in their best efforts in the second run to try and better their first run. I tried really hard and was determined to try and close down some of the gap between myself and Tiaan, but my efforts weren't good enough and my time showed my second run as being a few seconds slower. I was still really stoked with my result and could not have had been on a better machine for this race, the Morewood was prime for this track and I look forward to the next race at karkloof. 

Official Top Ten Results: 

1	Greg Minnaar	EM	2.19.78
2	Tim Bentley	EM	2.21.66
3	Travis Browning	EM	2.25.12
4	Hayden Brown	EM	2.25.71
5	Tiaan Odendaal	JM	2.26.53
6	Kelvin Purchase	EM	2.30.67
7	Kyle Davids	JM	2.32.59
8	Simon Dinkelman	EM	2.37.47
9	Anthony Botha	EM	2.40.25
10	Sam Bull	JM	2.41.41

A big thanks to the race organisers, Grant and Matt from Adrenaline Cycles and Andre from rush sports for the awesome Morewood machine.

    

SA Downhill MTB Champs-Contermanskloof 6 March 2011

The event that everybody prepares for every year was held in Contermanskloof just outside the beautiful city of Cape Town. It was the second big event of the year for me and was really excited to see if I could improve to a higher position on the podium. The whole "holiday" started off on Wednesday evening, with a long drive ahead, I reclined my seat and got comfy. We arrived in Cape Town on Thursday and i was eager to check out the track. I really enjoyed what I saw of the track and I knew the results were going to be closer than ever because of every ones training.

Friday had now come and it was time for official practice to begin. With there only being a few shuttles it was really difficult to get one amongst all the other riders, but i still managed to get 2 runs in which wasn't bad seeing as though others only got 1, or none at all. I made the most of my practice runs by doing some sections one by one. I got everything done on the track and and my only problem on this course was corners, and the whole track was made of corners but I kept my mind positive and maintained a good attitude towards my worst nightmare. Saturday would be the last day of practice and just needed it to get all my lines working in sinc.

Saturday was another extremely hot day in the baron part of Cape Town, with no trees anywhere near the track it was sunburn haven. We started the day off pretty early and were hoping to get one of the first shuttles, unfortunately we didn't and waited a while for the shuttles to all get going. I managed to get a few runs in, practiced the corners enough to think I had them pinned, and did the fast, open bottom section with all the jumps a few times. With all the practice needed we packed up and headed to the beach were things got a little out of control. An early night then followed before the big day.

Sunday was race day, and nervous didn't half describe what I was feeling, I did my one necessary practice run and the course had seen its better days for sure. Most of the corners were getting really tough to stick but it was the same for everyone. The weather was perfect and after one run down the track I chilled with the rest of the KZN guys and waited for our seeding runs.    

My seeding run went really well considering I didn't pedal much, I had a few mishaps but nothing too serious, I went pretty hard on the bottom section but could still have it a little faster. I managed to get a reasonably good seeding run time of 2min34sec which put me in 2nd in junior men's category only a few splits off my main rivals time. I now knew what I was capable of and only one thing remained, and that was whether the track could withhold another 100 or so riders coming down, our race runs would be the judge.

The one and only run that would count towards the results was kicked off from slowest seeded riders to the fastest seeded riders. After having a really good seeding run I was seeded as one of the last 20 riders to come down the track, I left the start gate and begun peddling into the sequence of corners that I hoped were going to hold up. They didn't and my series of corners with my feet out began, my foot was out even up until the road gap where I had no choice but to get my feet in my pedals. I hit the road gap and the fastest section of the course was around the next few corners, I pulled all my mistakes together and tried to make up for lost time in the sections that were left. Through the berms and over the jumps and finally into the last stretch of the track, it had a straight and a table top jump and then the sprint to the finish. I gave the final section 100% but it seemed to not have had been enough, I was lying 3rd behind my team mate Sam Bull by a matter of a second or even less, with the next junior rider coming down straight after me I was just hoping I could at least stay on the podium. I was unsuccessful and slipped down to a fourth. I was a little annoyed with the run I had but that's racing that's what makes it exciting. I now had a whole week to waste in Cape Town because of my brothers S.A champs the following weekend. All in all, I learned to just keep going and never give up in a race run, its just that little bit more that rewards you at the end. Well done to Sam, Adi and Tiaan for making the podium.

A big thanks to Chris Nixon for putting the event together.

Photos : Stephanie Davies(Radiate Photography) and Trevor Davids

Greg Minnaar/Mongoose DH Series #2-Cascades 20 February 2011

The day started off with an unusual introduction. Due to the excessive raining the night before the shuttles couldn't get to the top of the hill. This definitely meant that we were only going to be able to practice and race from just above the N3 table tops. We, as the riders, had to accept this even after a lot of practice on the top sections of the track. The bottom of the track however, was looking really good from a spectators perspective and the riders perspective, the Morewood gazebo was set up and things were looking pro.

Myself, team mate Sam, team mate Josh and Adrenaline cycles owner Grant suited up and headed to the N3 table tops for our first run of the day. It didn't look to muddy from what we could see, but as we pushed up the rest of the track to where we'd be starting, things seemed to have gotten really slippery. I did my first run, and in the first corner I almost crashed, the back wheel was going all over but the Morewood handled it perfectly. The rest of my practice runs were really good, except for some little mistakes but before we knew it, it was time to race.

First Race Run : The first race run was probably the most tiring run of my life, for some reasons i had only moved about 400 meters and was already out of breath. I had to sit down, all I tried to do was go as fast as i could, but i wasn't granted energy to do so. I skipped out some of the jumps because I didn't have the momentum to jump them and so I lost a bit of time there. I managed to get down to the bottom of the track, out of breath and feeling very, very tired. I got a reasonably good time but was not on a podium seat just yet.

Second Race Run : With extremely tired legs and after having an energy gue I set off down the track, determined to get my goal of a podium. my brother Brendon, friend Adriaan and another friend of mine on the track supporting I couldn't slack at all, I gave it my 100% and by the time I got to the bottom it seamed to have payed off. I ended up with a 3rd on the day and just missed the top 10 overall.

A big thanks to the organizers for putting on yet another awesome race. 

Photos : Stephanie Davies and Gavin Ryan

African Continental Championships - 10/02/11 --->13/02/11

African Continental Champs was held at Jonkershoek in Stellenbosch this past weekend, the venue was picturesque with mountains, pine forests and beautiful women. We arrived in Stellenbosch on Thursday morning, I was really amped to take the Kalula out for a ride but the course was closed until Friday at 10 o'clock.

Early Friday morning myself, Tiaan Odendaal and Steven Jackson walked the DH course and found it to be almost exactly the same as what it was two years ago for the national that was held in Jonkershoek. I really enjoyed that track and couldn't wait to ride. We suited up and were the first riders down the track, I found the track to be fast and flowing, and after my first run down I immediately said to myself that this course after a few runs from everybody was going to be very tricky. 

And so it was, on Saturday the course was getting totally ripped up as almost every rider competing in the event was doing their practice. I had a few close calls during practice, one too many as i found myself tasting Jonkershoek dust and dirt on the first corner of my first practice run on Saturday. All in all, I felt that I had sorted out my lines for the race the next day, and whats a better way to end off the day than to have your brother win the junior mens xco race.

The next morning we all woke up rather early, there was still mist covering the mountains around us and it was a little chilly. Myself and Alasdair Fey came down the track and both of us made mistakes so we did another practice run before qualifying. On the last run down the track, I made sure of all my lines and didn't pedal at all to make sure of myself conserving energy.

Qualifying Run : In my qualifying run I was unsure of what we actually had to do, so I went down the track as if it was almost like another practice run but still tried to go fast and this seeded me as the 4th Junior with a time of 2min20sec. I was pretty excited with my result and headed up the mountain for mt race run, this run had to be faultless if I wanted to succeed in getting my goal of a podium.

Race Run : My race started of with a surge out of the gate, I got the top section good enough I thought and kept giving it my all, there were some close calls where I almost hit a few trees, I managed to keep it all together until I got to the second road gap where I took my foot out and really struggled to put it back in. I managed to get my foot in and raced down the final flat open section, pedaling like a man possessed and came racing through the finish line. At the top of the track i said to myself that I really wanted a 2min15sec and what did I get? I got a 2min15.69sec good enough to put me in 4th overall so far, but there were still many riders to come down, I got knocked down to 13th overall and my end result was a 4th in the Junior men category.

A big thank you to the people who made this event possible, Chris Nixon, Morne Odendaal and many others.

PHOTOS BY  EWALD SADIE - uberbecks   

Greg Minnaar/Mongoose DH Series #1-Cascades 30 January 2011

The first downhill race of the 2011 season was kicked off for the KZN riders at Cascades in Pietermaritzburg. With it being right on my doorstep I had put in enough practice before the race, much practice with friends had also made the nerves for this race seem rather distant. I had been looking forward to this event as it would be the first one that I'd be doing on my brand new Morewood Kalula.

Race day dawned with much excitement. Grant from Team Adrenaline Cycles had rounded up the XCO team mates and had brought the noise! We had a sweet gazebo set up and with the help of Andre from Rush Sports everything was looking really professional. I was really excited and looking forward to what the track would be like and with that I completed two practice runs, both of them being clean runs and so I settled down, tucked into my water melon and waited for my first race run.

The first race run was intense. On the top part of the track everything was going smoothly until I miss judged a corner that had been rutted up and the burm that had formed during practice had been demolished by someone, I lost my front wheel and fell to the ground but got up quicker than I had gone down. I battled to find my rhythm for the rest of the track and was not too pleased with my run of 1min43.43 seconds, I was a little bit off the pace but if I could have a perfect second run I could at least have a top 5 result.

Second race run I had to make it faultless. I got my lines dialed and was feeling really good on the Morewood. I pedaled in places which I hadn't in my first race run and it seemed as if it had payed off at the end. Out of breath and eager to hear my final time, the commentator announced it. My final time of the day was 1min:38.94secs narrowly missing second place by only 3 split seconds but I was happy with my result.

All in all it was an awesome event and a big thanks given to Morne and the rest of the people who made this event possible, but more than anything I'd like to thank Grant and Matt from Adrenaline Cycles for making sure the bike had no problems, and another big thanks must go to Andre from Rush Sports for putting my awesome bike together!

Photos: Stephanie Davies- Radiate Sports Photography