Greg Minnaar signs with Norco

In a not particularly well-kept secret, champion downhiller and Greg Minnaar has signed with the Norco Factory racing team. Many wondered where he would land when he announced he would leave the Santa Cruz Syndicate, and few would have guessed it would be Norco. But we've heard this move was a long time in the making.

If you have followed the success of the Santa Cruz Syndicate, you'd know that while Minnaar is one of the best on the circuit, his input into bike design and tutelage of young riders offer immense value for team sponsors. And that won't change with Norco, with Minnaar focussed on working with their engineers to develop their equipment. We would probably guess that means their new downhill bike, given prototypes are getting around.

“Until recently, I had no idea that Norco had such an incredible engineering team,” said Minnaar. “I’ve never seen this in the bike industry, where the engineering team has a separate division to work with the race team. I’ll be lucky enough to direct this program, to be a part of a culture of performance and leverage my years of experience, while giving myself the best possible chance between the tape. This is the beginning of a new chapter for me and for Norco—we’re just getting started."

This will be a big load to shoulder, especially when you consider that in addition to racing, Minnaar will lead the Norco Factory race team, joining current members Gracey Hemstreet and Lucas Cruz, while starting to build the team for the future. This is a big step, when you consider it was barely two years ago that Norco said they'd stop their Factory Team.

“What an honour it is to have the greatest of all time as a teammate,” said Cruz. “Ever since meeting him in my first Word Cup season he’s been such a down to earth guy and a person you can’t help but look up to! I can’t wait to get to know him better and do some serious damage on the circuit this year alongside Gracey and the GOAT.”

Hemstreet added, “I’m super excited to have Greg as part of Norco Factory this year. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor. I believe that Greg’s experience and knowledge in the sport will take our team to the next level. It’s going to be a great year.”

Greg will also mentor Norco’s youth development team, The Source, a program aimed at finding and fostering the future of downhill racing, giving them the support and tools they need to succeed.

Minnaar is due to race on the prototype Norco DH bike for this season (and we reckon in the new Fox DH onesie if the UCI rules get wiggled a bit), as he starts work with the engineering team to tweak and tinker with the rig. “I am here to build the fastest team, with the fastest bike,” said Minnaar.

“We can think of no better way to kick off our 60th anniversary year than to have an icon of the sport like Greg join our team,” said Gwen van Lingen, Head of Brand at Norco. “Not just looking at now, but planning for the future is exciting for Norco, Greg, and the sport as a whole.”

There's a couple of things that are certain here. First, we'll see Minnaar continue to be a rider to watch on the World Cup in 2024. Secondly, it seems like Norco is gearing up for a big year in 2024. We know the Norco Neat eMTB will land in a few months, but the last big slew of XC, trail and enduro bikes all popped out around 2019 with the Revolver FS, Optic, Sight and Range. Surely the starpower of a rider like Minnaar and an expanding roster may suggest some new projects behind the curtains over the coming couple of years from the Canadian bike brand.