Austria was the stage for the final round of the World Championship Downhill Mountain Biking Championship on the 13th September 2008. This fast paced, high octane, thrill seeking sport is not for the faint hearted, with athletes hurtling down steep, challenging and unpredictable terrain.

One rider who has been on his game this season is Greg Minnaar, who had managed to win three of the six events in the run up to the Nissan UCI World Cup series Finale. Greg, a World Champion in 2001 and 2005, missed out on regaining the Championship the last two seasons through a mixture of injury, mechanical issues and bad luck.

Heading into the final round, Greg’s crew, the Santa Cruz Syndicate also had the opportunity to take the team Championship. It had been a tough campaign for the rider’s, but they were ready to commence battle against their main adversary the Animal Commencal team.

Greg took a healthy points lead into the final round, knowing that a secure run would see him crowned champion.

Greg started his run and took things sensibly or as sensibly as a downhill biker can. Conscious not to make a mistake he finished safely in fifth place, which was enough to take the overall title.

"It's such a relief you know, because you come here with the leader's jersey on your back, so it's almost yours, and you know that so much can happen in this sport that could take it away. Even though I knew I had it when I crossed the line and only 5 guys were left to come down, I still couldn't quite believe it."

The race was eventually won by young New Zealand rider Sam Blenkinsop, winning his first World Cup round.

Santa Cruz Syndicate team mate, Steve Peat, put in an impressive ride down the course beating his team mate Greg Minnaar by one place to finish fourth, while Nathan Rennie, who almost didn’t make it through illness put in a brave display to qualify ninth and finish in nineteenth position, picking up 47 points which all helped to the team’s total as they won the title by a mere 36 points.

After all the trials and tribulations of the last two seasons, managing to regain his world title and helping the team to their own triumph proved to be the sweetest way for Greg to sign off the 2008 season. Now he can take a break before beginning his title defense in his home town of Pietermartizburg next April.