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Greg Minnaar at Leogang DH World Cup practice on July 9, 2017.
© Bartek Woliński
Bike
This is why Greg Minnaar is the world’s best racer
The South African is arguably the greatest downhill mountain biker of all time. We talk to the man about his restless search for perfection, a knack for harnessing fear and, what’s next.
Written by Angus Powers
11 min readPublished on
There's no doubting Greg Minnaar's popularity and success in downhill racing, and he proved that he still has what it takes to win after a blinding run at the World Cup in Fort William which saw him take the top step at the venue for the seventh time.
Greg Minnaar celebrating as seen during Fort William 2017 DH finals on June 4, 2017.
Greg Minnaar, the King of Fort William yet again© Bartek Woliński
Minnaar shows no sign of slowing down however, but he takes a moment with us to reflect on his phenomenal career so far, and what the future holds for the most decorated downhiller in history. Let's start with his debut season in 2001...
“That was a mad year,” recalls Minnaar. “I was turning 20, it was my first professional year and going into the final round of the World Cup I found myself second overall, 28 points behind one of my heroes and arguably the best downhiller ever, Nicolas Vouilloz. I managed to beat him in the semi-final to move within 18 points. From there, it didn’t matter where we finished but whoever beat the other guy on the day would win the series.
The pressure was on. There was this rock drop and I was the only guy in the field able to do it. I knew I could make some time there and with that drop, I managed to beat Nico and win the overall World Cup.
Greg Minnaar
Picture it. Out of the entire pro downhill field, this rookie kid from Pietermaritzburg is the only rider able to make the jump, and in so doing steals the World Cup series by half a second from the six-time world champion. How does that work?
Three weeks later it’s the World Championships in Vail, Colorado. Minnaar is running hot but in the sprint for the finish snaps his chain, crashes hard and ends up sliding across the line to stop the clock three-tenths of a second behind another DH legend, Steve Peat. “Then Nico comes down to pip Steve and takes the win, and there I was all bandaged up and on the podium with two of my heroes,” says Minnaar. “That year was just insane.”
Find out more on what makes Greg tick in the Rob Warner Meets episode below.
Even if it weren’t for his inherent modesty, Minnaar struggles to explain how he had acquired such preternatural skills by the age of 19. “I don’t know,” he shrugs. “I’ve always been comfortable doing those jumps and gaps. Maybe because the jumps I built in my childhood weren’t so great and that developed my skills a little better? Or maybe it was just confidence at the time.”
But rewind through the archives to Minnaar’s first love, motocross, and there’s a hint of what is to come. The situation is this: Minnaar’s junior school puts on a fete and every pupil is tasked with coming up with a fund-raising idea. Some kids bake cakes, others sell raffle tickets; Minnaar gets his dad to build a ramp so he can jump his motocross bike over some cars. Maybe that’ll attract a crowd, reasons young Greg.
Hit play below too see how it all started for him:
“It took off,” he says. “I ended up doing mini-tours; then they brought me into the Royal Show, which was the biggest thing in town. I wound up getting paid R1,000 a show. I even bought myself a brand new BMX – that was so cool. I jumped 10 or 11 cars at the Royal Show, but I got up to 16.”
And this is at what age? “I was 12 years old.”

Home is where the heart is

Deep in downtown Durban, it’s been easier to find a late breakfast than the US consulate. With his visa application eventually filed, Minnaar is leaning against the counter of a take-out joint. Tall, lean and dressed with understated cool in a loose white T and black jeans, he’s crunching on a samoosa and swiping through an app that monitors wherever he’s been tagged on social media. Privacy’s an issue these days, but right now, having not eaten since that 6km run at 5am, but so is his hunger and he orders a beef bunny chow.
Greg Minnaar tackles the wooded section during Fort William UCI DH World Cup Rd 2 finals on June 4, 2017.
No problems for Greg Minnaar in the woods© Bartek Woliński
Minnaar is a big tipper, and both the fast-food lady and the car guard feel the effects of his generosity. He lives by the credo that whatever you’re happy to blow on a night at the bar, you should be prepared to dish out in tips during the day. Frankly, none of this genuine humility really chimes with the popular perception of how a downhill daredevil – blessed with fame, fortune and adrenaline coursing through his veins – should behave.
Juggling his bunny chow and the steering wheel, Minnaar ventures an explanation. “When you come from a place like Pietermaritzburg, people try to pretend that you never achieved anything. It’s quite humbling, which is cool. It’s one of the things I like about Maritzburg: people don’t really care, and even if they do care they’ve got to show you that they don’t care.”
Greg Minnaar rides DH practice at the Lourdes MTB World Cup on April 8, 2016.
The man and his Santa Cruz machine in Lourdes© Bartek Woliński/Red Bull Content Pool
In contrast, there’s nothing small-town or small-time about Minnaar’s mentality. “Fame is not something that I ever set out to be a part of,” he says. “I just wanted to race my bike and be the best I could be.” In terms of downhill World Cup victories (his most recent victory in Fort William bringing his number of titles to a staggering 20), that turned out to be the best ever. His record at the World Championships is also unmatched: 10 medals – three gold, four silver and three bronze. In fact, at 16 world champs, Minnaar has finished outside of the top four just four times.
Watch below to see how Greg won his 20th World Cup race in Fort William.
3 minGreg Minnaar race run Fort William 2017Watch Greg Minnaar claim a record seventh win at the Fort William UCI DH World Cup race.
Watch
That’s a staggering level of success both on a one-off basis and over a long period of time. It’s classic Minnaar and is underlined by three World Cup series wins. Consistency by the bucket-load.
“When there’s no pressure or nothing up for grabs, I battle to elevate my game,” Minnaar admits. “But on a race weekend, I’m hard on myself. I get pretty zoned out, pretty focused on the event. During practice, I see these guys coming past me and I just think, ‘Wow, these guys are really flying’.”
Focus is good, but way more powerful is how Minnaar converts nagging self-doubt into a relentless drive to succeed. What kind of champion says, “I’ve never seen myself as a fast rider” or, “I don’t feel I’m on another level”? By feeding off his humility, Minnaar creates the ultimate inbuilt motivation machine – a high-performance feedback loop that works precisely because he is such a nice guy, albeit a super-talented one.
“It happens at every race and I know it happens and I can’t control it and that’s just the way it is,” he says. “After watching someone ranked 20th in the world come flying through, I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m definitely off the back this weekend’.
Greg Minnaar in Pietermaritzburg, 2013
Greg Minnaar wins the worlds on home soil in 2013© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
“It’s probably a weakness not having this confidence, but I also feel it’s one of my strengths because it really makes me work harder and be more meticulous. I tick every box rather than skipping a few because I’m confident in what I’m doing. Probably if I could control it and be more confident, I might have had better results, but at the same time I don’t think the formula’s too bad either.”
No, a record-setting 71 World Cup podiums isn’t a bad return, but in a sport as wild as downhill – where your comfort zone is so regularly and so viscerally challenged – willpower alone will get you hurt quicker than it will shift the limits of what you previously thought was possible. Therefore, say hello to thrill management.
(As if on cue, cop cars with flashing blue lights are throttling the traffic. There’s construction blasting happening nearby and the highway is shut down until the controlled explosions are over.)
Greg Minnaar performing at the 2013 World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Sweet relief© Sven Martin/Red Bull Content Pool
“I think that’s where the excitement of downhill comes in,” continues Minnaar. “When you know you have to make up time on a section. Someone’s doing it, so it is possible. My whole thing in life is that if someone’s able to do it, you can possibly do it as well. Anything you put your mind to, you’re capable of doing. And when you’ve focused on that section, changed your line and changed your whole approach, when you put that all together and make it through, the rush is incredible.”

With fear comes focus

“Oh, there is fear,” he concedes. “The fear just sharpens you up a bit. Makes you focus. There are consequences but you calculate that risk, or at least I do. If I don’t feel comfortable in a section, I might ride it at 99-100 percent, but then I know that where I am comfortable I have to ride at at least 110 percent to make up for lost time.
“You’re never going to win a race riding at 100 percent. You need to find those areas where you can absolutely push hard. But maybe I’m content to back it down and just match someone in a certain section, and then in the section before or after I’ll ride super-hard. You can never approach a downhill and not attack right to the end. Even when you’re riding safe, you’re still attacking.”
Greg Minnaar as seen at the end of the Fort William MTB World Cup race in 2017.
No. 7 wins at Fort William© Bartek Woliński

Born to race

Minnaar’s garage is stacked with toys. The 4x4 lives in the driveway; inside are two KTM 250cc dirt bikes, piles of motocross and cycling gear, and a quiver of classy Santa Cruz bicycles. The guy clearly likes to stay busy. If his weekly training mix is run-ride-gym, he’ll throw in a couple of golf, surf or motocross sessions too. From his off-season “itch list”, he’s already done the Cape Epic, the Roof of Africa and two Dusi canoe marathons.
Such restless versatility is both a product of, and a reaction to, his racer’s DNA. “Racing’s been my life,” says Minnaar. “It’s the one thing I’ve done from a really young age. From an emotional side, I just love competing. It drives the best out of me and the challenge of winning motivates me. The challenge of never being perfect, of trying to get back up and win again. But it’s hard: you have to be open to a process of figuring out where you’re weak and working on that. It’s important to never settle or be content with where you are. Times change. You have to keep improving.”
The bike of Greg Minnaar in the Val di Sole pits during the World Championships.
Top flight race bikes are near-silent machines© Bartek Woliński
Factor into that equation the toll that pro downhillers inevitably pay – in Minnaar’s case: a double shoulder dislocation, broken scapula and clavicles, ruptured knee and thumb ligaments.
“The initial kick-start was being nervous of life after racing,” admits Minnaar. “What happens when you stop racing? I never went to college so there’s no education to fall back on. I needed to try get going on a few projects in my spare time.”
When his dad fell ill some years ago, Minnaar inherited responsibility for the family bike shop, which he has just finished renovating. Minnaar also finds time to manage his local and overseas properties, collaborate on product design with sponsors, be a partner in two cycling distribution companies, and, more recently, co-founder of an international jewellery line.
“My days are full,” he grins. “I think that’s how I like to live – to pack a lot in. But I also like to go with the flow. If something comes up, I’ll join in, unless it’s got to do with heights. I don’t do heights, but everything else is cool.”
Greg Minnaar poses for a portrait at the Leogang MTB World Cup 2017.
Mr. Min is also Mr. Cool© Bartek Woliński
Minnaar isn’t kidding. He’s pretty open-minded, whether it’s spotting opportunities in races or business, taking his nieces for birthday outings to the mall, or wrangling crocodiles.
“The crocodile thing was great to raise awareness for conservation,” he says. “But at the same time, I was absolutely s**tting myself. Honestly, we were in a pen with 20 crocodiles.”
He pauses. “If I think back, it was stupid." He pauses again. “There’s been a lot of those along the way. Touch wood, no-one’s been hurt yet. Not too badly. But that’s the fun part of life – laughing about how we got away with something that we probably shouldn’t have.”
Fast forward to the grand opening of Minnaar’s revamped bike shop. Guests, fans and mates are due in an hour, and the shop staff have the place looking immaculate. Out back, Minnaar is especially proud of the state-of-the-art bike wash system that harvests and then recycles rain water through the wash bay.
But, out front, after an unseasonal cloudburst, puddles are pooling in the doorway. While everyone else takes shelter, Minnaar grabs a broom, steps into the drizzle and starts sweeping. Some might see the boss setting high standards. But Greg Minnaar just sees a job that needs to be done, and no reason why he can’t do it. Like so much else, it’s as simple as that.
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