May 18, 2008
Lisbon, Portugal

The ninth annual Lisbon Downtown race was held today with racers taking to the infamous cobblestone stairways winding down the old city from the Castelo de Sao Jorge. As cats scrambled off the race rack citizens watched from their laundry filled balconies to see Steve Peat, indisputably the King of Lisbon, take his 7th consecutive win with teammate Greg Minnaar in second, just .46 behind him.

The Syndicate racers were reunited in Lisbon after racing in Maribor and having a few days off. Rennie and Minnaar spent two perfect days in Venice, Italy, while Peat enjoyed his family at home. Young Josh Bryceland was home tending to the leg injury that he suffered in Maribor, which at this time looks to be a huge hematoma on his leg.

Upon arriving into Lisbon the Syndicate squad spent a day on the beach relaxing and playing Frisbee before Saturday’s event. The downtown event takes place all on Saturday with four scheduled practice runs, a semi-final and the final. Practice for the race had its ups and downs. Things went smooth for Minnaar and Rennie, but Peaty suffered a mechanical in his first run, and dislocated his finger in his last run. Peat says, “Practice hasn’t gone that well. I had a little problem with the bike, and then a crash resulting in a dislocated finger. Luckily I put the finger back in while I was sliding on the cobbles.”

Semi Finals:

Minnaar wins the semi-final with Peat in 2nd. Filip Polc came 3rd, and local talent Roger Gonzalez was 4th followed by Emanuel Pombo in 5th. Minnaar says “My run was solid, but kind of hard because photographers step into the course and it is hard to set up for your lines. I managed to hit everything I wanted, and some sections I just rolled through really well.”

Finals:

Syndicate’s Steve Peat continues his reign of Lisbon, Minnaar finishes hot behind him in second, Filip Polc takes 3rd for the second year in a row. Minnaar jokes, “The race was good today. I think Steve was lucky. I had to fake a mistake to let the old boy win! Things went pretty good. I felt a bit of pressure from the old man. I made a little mistake on top and a costly mistake at the bottom, but that’s racing and that’s how it goes. I’m happy for Steve today, winning 7 times in a row!”

Peat says, “I’m stoked!! It’s luck! I don’t know why I get good luck, but I did. After practice and qualifier I really didn’t think I could win today. I knew everyone was fast, especially Greg. My qualifier was shocking. I really had to focus, but I’ve been in this situation before and I can deal with it. I’m really happy to take my Santa Cruz V-10 to my 7th win here!”

FINAL RESULTS:

1: STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 1:40.43
2: GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 1:40.89
3: Filip Polc 1:42.76
4: Sam Hill 1:43.38
5: Cedric Gracia 1:43.86

8: Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 1:45.05

Semi Final Results:

1: Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 1:41.89
2: Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) 1:43.74
3: Filip Polc 1:43.94
4: Roger Gonzalez 1:44.01
5: Emanuel Pombo 1:44.10

Thanks to the SYNDICATE sponsors:

Santa Cruz Bicycles
SRAM
RockShox
Truvativ
Avid
Maxxis
DT Swiss
WTB
Crankbrothers
Lizard Skins
Clif Bar
Troy Lee Designs
Chris King
Five Ten

Steve talks to Marcus Farley about how he got started in racing, his new colleagues in the Santa Cruz Syndicate and those elusive rainbow stripes.

http://www.bikeradar.com

Sunday, May 10, 2008
Maribor, Slovenia

The first NISSAN UCI World Cup was met with much anticipation and excitement. Websites were buzzing all week with news from the event and journalists and television crews were all over the beautiful Pohorje Mountain situated on the outskirts of the city of Maribor in Slovenia. The outing for the Syndicate was successful and dismal all in the same day with Steve Peat and Greg Minnaar headlining the highlights as they finished 3rd and 5th respectively while Josh Bryceland suffered a massive get-off at the end of the rock garden while having a screamer of a run.

Here‚Äôs how the week went: (more…)

April 20, 2008
Monterey, California

Santa Cruz Syndicate (SRAM) racer Greg Minnaar headlines the downhill and dual slalom winning both gravity events at the Sea Otter Classic this weekend. Sharing the love with Greg on the downhill podium were teammates Steve Peat and Nathan Rennie placing 4th and 5th respectively, with Chris Kovarik 2nd and Justin Leov 3rd. Minnaar was on the top blocks in the dual slalom with Steve Peat 2nd, Andrew Neethling 3rd and Kirt Voreis 4th. Minnaar’s double wins this weekend show that he has made a seamless transition to the Syndicate squad and seems to be getting on quite well on his new Santa Cruz bikes.

(more…)