Stander, Minnaar Go For Gold At Mountain Bike World Champs

Race Report : Release Centre

South Africans, Burry Stander and Greg Minnaar, will be hunting for gold at the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia starting on Tuesday.

Currently ranked No. 4 overall in the world, Stander is the outright favourite to capture the Under-23 men’s Olympic Cross-country (XCO) title on Friday. The Team Specialized rider turns 22 on 16 September, which makes this his final year in the age group and his last shot at the gold medal, which would be a first for a South African in the XCO discipline.

Stander, who hails from Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, was runner up to Swiss star, Nino Schurter (now racing Elite men), at the 2008 Under-23 World Championships, but has been a regular podium contender at UCI World Cup races throughout 2009, leaving his Under-23 rivals way behind and challenging the Elite men with his widely-praised talent.

The current South African and African champion, has one third, two fourths, a fifth and two sevenths in the six World Cup races so far this year, which place him third overall in the World Cup standings behind multiple Olympic and World Champion, Julien Absalon (FRA) and Jose Hermida (ESP).

Stander’s individual success has helped move South Africa to seventh on the nation rankings, ahead of the likes of the United States, Australia, Belgium and The Netherlands.

Minnaar’s quest for gold is far more complicated than that of Stander. Currently second on the Downhill world rankings and the World Cup standings, Minnaar has a crowd of rivals to contend with on Sunday.

With three firsts, a second and two thirds in the 2009 World Cup series so far, the 27-year-old from Pietermaritzburg has shown impressive consistency, a rare quality in an event that lasts less than four minutes and offers no room for error.

The Santa Cruz Syndicate team rider also won the World Cup round held on the same course in Canberra last year and will be looking to regain the coveted world title that he last won back in 2003.

A nine-member South African team is included in a total of 589 participants from 41 countries that will compete in the championships, which run until Sunday.

South African team:
Cross-country – Junior men: Rourke Croeser, James Reid. Junior women: Candice Neethling, Mariske Strauss.
Downhill – Elite men: Greg Minnaar, Andrew Neethling. Elite women: Anka Martin, Joanna Pettersen.
Junior men : Timothy Bentley
4X – Elite women: Joanna Pettersen.