Greg Minnaar to join the Syndicate.

The Santa Cruz Syndicate is excited to welcome Greg Minnaar onto the Syndicate for the next two downhill racing seasons! We expect the addition of Minnaar to raise the bar even higher for the Syndicate and are eager to get the new Santa Cruz V-10 underneath him. Having Steve Peat, Nathan Rennie, and Josh Bryceland work and train together with Minnaar should elevate the playing field to new levels in the downhill arena.

Rob Roskopp (owner, Santa Cruz Bicycles), has had an eye on Minnaar for a few years now, and when Honda made the decision to end their involvement in downhill racing, Roskopp saw this as the chance he was waiting for to add Minnaar to the successful Syndicate program. Having talented bike racers with big personalities is a prerequisite for the Syndicate, and Minnaar brings his professionalism, engaging personality and dedication to his craft to the squad. Something that impressed Roskopp the most was Minnaar’s performance at the World Championships in Fort William, Scotland, when in his race run, he crashed and continued on to a successful 4th place finish with a dislocated shoulder and broken scapula suffered in the crash! Witnessing that type of mental determination and control was compelling for Roskopp to aggressively pursue signing Minnaar.

Roskopp comments, “I’m very excited to have Greg on the Syndicate. I admire his talent, professionalism and work ethic and have wanted him on the Syndicate for some time. The Syndicate will now have a broad range in the downhill squad from young, up and coming Josh, to seasoned pros and legends, and will truly be a very international group. Having Greg will be amazing, and I look forward to seeing him race on the V-10.”

“The most important factor for me in choosing a team I race for is the level of support, and the ability to race at my best. It’s clear that the Syndicate is driven by people who love to race. To have a race winning bike beneath me as well as team mates that will continue to push me, makes me very excited about the upcoming season. We are going to be a pretty tough team to beat!” says Minnaar.

Something we strive for in the Syndicate is to create an environment where each rider can express their unique individuality and develop their personas in the sport. Supporting and maintaining the momentum Minnaar has attained in his career will be a feature of his program.

Steve Peat remarks, “Greg is going to be a huge asset to the Syndicate. He and I have been friends since he first visited the UK, a long time ago, and I can see how his drive to win along with his professionalism will be a huge plus for us on the circuit. Welcome aboard Greg!”

Josh Bryceland excitedly says, “That's awesome news! I can't think of a much stronger group with Steve, Nathan and Greg! I have looked up to Greg as much as I have Nathan and Steve the whole time. His style and his consistency will just make the Syndicate even stronger! Also, we can both be newcomers together, ha-ha!”

Nathan Rennie welcomes Greg to the team with his sense of humor, “Looks like there are going to be three naked 6’ 3” men in the back of Steve’s van this year. I had enough trouble understanding Steve’s accent.... Welcome, and oh, by the way, that’s my sandwich Greg.”

Once again, it is with great pleasure that we make this announcement and welcome Greg to the Syndicate!


Kathy Sessler
Santa Cruz Syndicate
Team Manager