It's official: DH legend Greg Minnaar joins Norco

One of the most significant news from the past season was the departure of Greg Minnaar from Santa Cruz Bicycles. The downhill legend separated from what had been his team for 16 years and there was a lot of anticipation about his future. It has just been announced that Minnaar is joining Norco Bikes and will compete with the Norco Factory in 2024.

Greg Minnaar signs for Norco Factory

It was one of the most anticipated signings of the season and it has finally been revealed. Greg Minnaar joins Norco even though the brand does not yet have a DH bike in its catalog. In recent months, some prototypes of what could be a future Norco for DH have already been seen and with Minnaar's joining their team, the brand's commitment to the modality is confirmed.

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With four World Championships and 23 World Cup victories, the South African is one of the most decorated bikers in the modality and his arrival at Norco could mean a significant change both in competition and in the market. There is no doubt that Minnaar's experience will be decisive in the development of Norco's new model.

"Until recently, I had no idea that Norco had such an incredible engineering team", said Minnaar after his presentation. "I have never seen this in the industry, the engineering team has a division that works with the racing team. I will be lucky to lead this program, to be part of a performance culture and to take advantage of 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 are just getting started".

In addition to racing, Minnaar will lead the Norco Factory racing team, joining current members Gracey Hemstreet and Lucas Cruz, as he begins to build the team for the future.

"What an honor it is to have the greatest of all time as a teammate", explained Cruz. "Since I met him in my first World Cup season, he has been a down-to-earth guy and a person you can't help but look up to!"

Hemstreet added: "I am very excited to have Greg as part of Norco Factory this year. I couldn't ask for a better mentor. I believe 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.

"I'm here to achieve the fastest team, with the fastest bike", said Minnaar.