After weeks of speculation, it has been confirmed that South Africa’s Greg Minnaar, the greatest male downhill racer of all time, will see out the remainder of his racing career with Canadian team, Norco Factory Racing. It’s a move that’s stunned many, but the surprise South African link helps the whole thing make sense…
By Sean Badenhorst
With a frustrating European stint behind him, Minnaar reached the final two rounds of the 2023 UCI World Cup Series in North America with a dilemma. End his illustrious career with his worst season of results or find a way to conclude it on a high note. It’s here where Minnaar discovered the importance of relationships.
In late 2023, South African Gwen van Lingen, had been appointed Head of Brand for Norco which was making significant changes in preparation to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2024. In her previous senior global marketing roles for Oakley, Van Lingen had essentially been Minnaar’s eyewear sponsor from 2013. Her husband, Lawrence van Lingen, a chiropractor and sports injury specialist, has also helped Minnaar with injury recovery and race-readiness over the years, most notably when he won his third World Championship title in Pietermaritzburg in 2013.
“I got asked to attend the last two World Cup races in North America and it turned out to be serendipitous. I have known Greg for years and I could tell he wasn’t his normal relaxed self. So, I made us some Rooibos Tea and we went for a walk and a talk, where Greg made it clear that he had more that he wanted to achieve and was frustrated that his 2023 season hadn’t been as smooth as he’d have liked,” explained Van Lingen.
“With Norco, we’d begun a drive to elevate the brand’s status as well as its reach. I had become familiar with our exceptional engineering and product team and I knew that there would be a good fit for Greg, who is known for being one of the more technically astute racers on the circuit. A couple of weeks and some meetings later and things were on track for a partnership. I like to call it a partnership, not a sponsorship, because Greg’s role with Norco is multi-layered and very much focused on the future,” added Van Lingen.
“I had an option to look at joining another team for 2024, but it was late in the year. I had that chance encounter with Gwen in Snowshoe and discovered that she was working on setting up something special with Norco. I didn’t know much about the Norco brand to be honest, but I worked with Gwen through Oakley for years. I know how she operates – she aims high and she gets stuff done. That in itself made the move to Norco worth considering,” said Minnaar.
“Once I spent time with the Norco engineering team, I could see that this would be a great alignment. Norco has given me what I wanted – a chance to conclude my racing career on my terms and the opportunity to build a great Downhill racing team for the next generation of racers and, at the same time, raise the profile of the brand and showcase Norco’s immense technology and performance-focused culture,” added Minnaar.
“Greg has more experience than anyone else in Downhill racing. He has so much knowledge to share as a mentor. He’s a South African who lives in Andorra, but he transcends borders, both as an athlete and an ambassador. I told him he deserves to be on a team where he is celebrated. It’s really been quite a rapid and exciting journey so far and the exciting part is that it’s only just starting,” smiled Van Lingen.
Minnaar has a three-year contract with Norco Factory Racing, with the option to extend for a fourth year. His title is Team Director. He will race the 2024 season alongside Norco Factory Racing teammates, Gracey Hemstreet and Lucas Cruz, talented young Canadians who he will mentor. He may race longer if he wants to. Minnaar has been assembling staff to ensure that Norco Factory Racing is one of the best Downhill Racing teams and he’s also been testing the new Norco Downhill bike, which will be launched this year.
This will be Minnaar’s 25th season racing on the Downhill circuit. His career record is unmatched by any male racer and includes, 23 World Cup wins (the current record), three World Cup Series titles and four World Championship titles.
