20 YEARS AGO: GREG MINNAAR TALKS ABOUT RACING FOR HONDA IN 2004

CYCLE OF DOMINANCE: GREG MINNAAR INTERVIEW–NOVEMBER 2004

The buzz Honda brought to downhill racing was the biggest in recent years, and all eyes were on Minnaar and his Honda RN01 race machine as the NORBA season kicked-off last May. Under the watchful eye of the media and his competition, Greg Minnaar won a second consecutive NORBA title, and quieted the critics on his choice of riding the one-of-a-kind downhill bike. Minnaar narrowly missed another World Championship, finishing second in Les Gets, France, this past September [2004].
We wanted to hear what racing for Honda was like from the champ himself. It wasn’t easy, but we tracked Greg down en route from the Mexican National Series to Japan, where he’ll be racing the final round of the Japan National series before testing of the 2005 Honda bike.

MBA: The NORBA series and World Championship have both recently ended. What are you up to at the moment?

Greg: I just returned from Mexico where I was a guest there racing their Mexican National Series. It’s the second time I’ve raced there and I really enjoy the atmosphere, because the spectators are really into the sport, it’s very cool. Soon, I’m headed to Japan for a testing session with the new 2005 Honda Bike. Prior to that, though, I’ll be racing in the final round of the Japan National Series, mainly to support my Japanese counterparts, Naoki Idegawa and Tadashi Takahashi, who’ve been racing the RN01 all year on that circuit.

MBA: You won your second consecutive NORBA Downhill Championship this year [2004] in Durango, Colorado. What were your expectations coming into the 2004 season?

Greg: Defending my 2003 NORBA Title was one of the main objectives for me and my new team. I really wanted to see how capable the new bike was of achieving the sort of results I had with Haro. But this time, rather than winning the series from behind in the last race, I wanted to win from the lead, and take as many victories as I could along the way.

MBA: You repeated as the NORBA Downhill Champion, and followed up last year’s World Championship victory with a second place. What was the key to your success this season?

Greg: These past two seasons I have approached my training in a far more methodical way. I used to rely on skill, race fitness and a bit of cross-country riding. Now with a professional coach I am a little more serious about my preparation, and I think the 2003 and 2004 seasons have shown that this works for me. That’s the main thing about my recent success. However, I am very fortunate to be on one of the most professional and well-supported teams on the circuit, with a great new bike equipped with the tires and all the components that I choose to use.   I don’t have any doubts about my potential to perform when I get ready to start a race, because the whole package is there.

MBA: Were you nervous at all about racing aboard a mysterious new bike and highly publicized team?

Greg: Not really. I gave this [moving to the Honda team] a lot of thought at the end of 2003, and decided that it would be exciting more than anything else. I wasn’t nervous, just excited to have this really cool opportunity.

MBA: Entering the 2004 season as the World Champion, you were a marked man at every event. Did you feel additional pressure riding for a new team, and on a bike everyone was talking about?

Greg: It’s funny; I’ve never felt like a marked man. I sometimes feel that I am one of the favorites to win, but never a marked man. Wearing the rainbow Jersey was a great honor, and I think it lifted me sometimes if there were any doubts in my mind. In many ways, I felt less pressure. I have won all the main titles in downhill racing, and it’s up to the other riders to take them from me, and that’s pressure for them. I don’t mean to sound arrogant when I say that, it’s more a matter of realizing that the pressure is off now for any elusive titles. I can now just focus on getting the most out of me, my bikes, and my career. It’s a good situation to be in at this stage of my life.

Our full Greg Minnaar interview appeared in the January 2005 issue of Mountain Bike Action.