Hometown hero Greg Minnaar sent the massive crowd into hysterical celebrations by winning the downhill title at the RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup, while Australian speedster Tracey Hannah completed a fairytale comeback to MTB downhill racing by winning the women’s title in emphatic fashion at the Cascades MTB course.

With less than a month to go before all the action of the 2012 RockyRoads UCI MTB World Cup season opener in Pietermaritzburg gets underway, cyclists throughout South Africa and around the world are starting to catch what is fast being termed ‘MTB World Cup fever’.

Ticket sales are open and selling fast for the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Pietermaritzburg, to be held at the Cascades Mountain Bike Park in less than two months.

Officials are on track to complete renovations to the world-famous facility well in time to be able to welcome the world’s best downhill and cross-country riders.

The 2011 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships have come to an end with yet another spectacular display of mountain bike racing from athletes all over the world, with only one chance of having the perfect race run to earn the prestigious title of MTB World Champion.

South Africa had a very strong presence in amongst a quality line-up of international mountain bikers in the cross-country and downhill disciplines; four-cross and trials were also part of the event schedule.

The 2011 UCI Mountain Bike and Trials World Championships kicked off yesterday (Wednesday 31 August) with the junior women cross-country (XCO) and the national XCO Team Relay at the Swiss resort of Champéry.

Approximately 840 athletes from 49 countries have entered for the mountain bike races, which sees nearly all the big names that have dominated the season so far battle it out for the ultimate glory: the World Champion’s rainbow jersey.

Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) won the sixth round of the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup in La Bresse, France. With a final run of 2min 09. sec Greg beat Gee Atherton in second by 0.5sec and Aaron Gwin into third by 2.5sec . Gwin’s third place secures him the 2011 overall World Cup title and makes him the first American to win the overall.

The weather definitely played a role in the third round of the UCI Downhill World Cup presented by Shimano in Leogang, Austria, as sticky mud slowed times down from qualifying a day earlier.

Aaron Gwin reclaimed the men’s World Cup lead from rival Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) with a dominating performance.