Final spoke in the 26-inch coffin?
DON'T you hate it when somebody tells you "I told you so!" And it is particularly infuriating when an annoying journalist smugly says it – so I will not tell you that I said from the beginning 26-inch bikes were inferior. And if there are still any diehard Neanderthals who still believe 26-inch bikes are better, then I think the announcement this week that Greg Minnaar will be riding a 29-inch bike on the opening leg of the downhill World Cup circuit will persuade them to crawl back to their caves.
Yes, you read that right. Greg Minnaar, three-time world champion, has switched to 29-inch wheels for his 2017 downhill campaign. He will be riding a Santa Cruz V10 29er – but I have to say I am not expecting too much from the Pietermaritzburg superstar in his first race on the new bike tomorrow in Lourdes, France, at the opening World Cup event.
Watching an interview with him this week, he seemed more laid back about the 2017 season than is normal – even for him.
"I am always a bit slow starting the season and I have not done a race this year," said the Santa Cruz Syndicate team rider. "This will be the first race this season."
And part of the reason he has not been seen training around the forests of Pietermaritzburg as much as normal is because of the new bike which was only publicly launched this week.
"We had the new bike and wanted to keep it under wraps and only launch it now. So I could not really ride it at home (in Pietermaritzburg), so I just did not ride.
"I have just done some testing in Italy and Portugal ... so I am keeping it fresh." Wow. That is not just keeping it fresh, that is keeping it on the tree!
But, as we all know, Minnaar is loaded with talent and while he may not have been over-training on the downhill side of things, he does not have a reputation for being one of the fittest riders on the downhill circuit by sitting around watching TV.
In another interview he said he has been at "home catching up with family and friends, but I’m looking forward to get it all going again.”
Minnaar has had a great break during the off-season, but has by no means been resting. He said: “It’s been a very busy few weeks. I have been in the process of building a new house, so that has been quite stressful. I’ve also been doing some filming with three various TV crews, so that also took up quite a lot of my time – so I’ve been doing a lot.”
He has also been busy with the launch of his re-vamped family bike shop in Pietermaritzburg, Greg Minnaar Cycles. “It’s been very exciting seeing it all come together, but also super busy. I guess you could say I’m pretty good as a site manager now,” he laughed.
Minnaar has also been pushing hard to develop the new bike.
The Santa Cruz Syndicate Team has a new look this year with Luca Shaw (USA) and Loris Vergier (France) joining Minnaar on the bike, although it is believed the other two will be riding on 27.5-inch variations of the bike.
With a question mark over the world number four ranked Minnaar, the riders to watch tomorrow are probably World Champion and the top ranked Danny Hart from Great Britain; Australian Troy Brosnan, who is ranked second just ahead of American Aaron Gwin; and Frenchman Rémi Thirion, who should be strong in his home event.