This weekend in Durango, Colorado, Greg Minnaar (Team G Cross Honda) will be chasing his second consecutive NORBA Title, which would bring his career title tally to four since 2001. The 22 year old from Pietermaritzburg is without doubt the greatest mountain biker to ever come out of the African continent, and is arguably one of the greatest ever African cyclists, and this weekend will go one step further in proving that, if all goes well in the ski resort town of Durango, at the famous Purgatory Mountain Resort.
The NORBA Series, held in the USA from May to August, is the most prestigious national series in the world. The series is made up of 6 downhill rounds, and so far Greg has won 3 of the 5 and has a lead of 46 points over John Kirkcaldie of New Zealand. This means that Greg only needs to finish top 6 in the final to secure his 4th career title. The other titles include 2001 World Cup Champion, 2003 NORBA Champion, and of course 2003 World Champion.
"I plan on following my regular race strategy this weekend, and it's a strategy that has worked well on three other occasions this year in the NORBA (Series), so I'm hopeful I can pull it off. Last year I won the title because the leader coming into the final round, Chris Kovarik, was unlucky in the final race and I moved up from 2nd to 1st. This year I'm determined not to have Chris' luck, and hold the lead until the end", said Minnaar from Durango this morning.
Durango has been kind to Greg in the past, taking a second place last year. Critical will be the afternoon thunderstorms that so often hit the region at this time of the year and can have a big impact on the finals. Nevertheless, his Honda RN01 prototype race bike has been faultless all year, and all looks good for another title victory for the South African.