FORT WILLIAM, Scotland – The rain came down and not even that could stop the greatest downhill racer of all time, Greg Minnaar, from nailing the Fort William track in Scotland to win his 20th Downhill World Cup of his career, and his seventh Downhill World Cup win at “The Fort” on Sunday.
The 35-year-old was 0,2 seconds off the pace at the first time split but by the time he reached the second time split, he was up by three seconds. He kept it tidy in the woods and powered his way over the table top jumps and kept the pace up to claim his victory by three seconds.
“I didn't think luck was on my side. It started raining hard at the top and I spent myself trying to ride hard. With the rain in my face, my vision not good and I knew I would have to pull a tear off before I went into the woods,” Minnaar told Red Bull TV.
The section in the woods saw a few crashes as the muddy ruts caught a few riders off guard as the race progressed. But Minnaar remained tucked into his cockpit to chisel away at the time splits.
“I rode it smooth until the end of the woods and opened it up at the bottom,” he said. “This is my toughest World Cup win for sure. I worked for this run.”
Minnaar now leads the UCI World Cup Series with 292 points as the riders and crew head to Leogang in Austria for round three next weekend.
Fellow South Africans Stefan Garlicki and Johann Potgieter also competed with Garlicki finishing in 35th place, while Potgieter finished 71st.
Results:
1.Greg Minnaar (RSA) 4:40.344
2.Jack Moir (AUS) 4:43.323 +2.979
3.Aaron Gwin (USA) 4:44.143 +3.799
4.Marcelo GUTIERREZ VILLEGAS (COL) 4:44.834 +4.490
5.Remi THIRION (FRA) 4:45.020 +4.676
35.Stefan Garlicki (RSA) 5:03.548 +23.204
71.Johann Potgieter (RSA) 5:23.171 +42.827