September 6, 2003, (Lugano, SUI) – Currently sitting in fourth place overall in the men's World DH Cup, the quiet and unassuming Greg Minnaar captured his first World Championship title this weekend. He rose through the ranks to being one of the top riders in the world when he captured the 2001 World Cup Overall title and a third place at the 2001 MTB Worlds. Since then he has been consistently placing in the top ten at international events. Minnaar had a bad crash at the 2002 Worlds and ruined any chances of a podium. This year, his luck was much better and after qualifying third he won by just under a second in the finals.

France's Mickael Pascal and Fabien Barel were second and third respectively. Current world cup leader, France's Cedric Gracia was eighth.

Mathieu Laurin was the top rider from Canada, finishing with a solid 37th. Trevor Porter was 61st, Jordie Lunn was 66th, Mike Jones, 68th, and  Hugo Donais 72nd.

Men's DH Results:

1. Greg Minnaar (RSA) 4:37.78
2. Mickael Pascal (FRA) 4:38.70
3. Fabien Barel (FRA) 4:39.11

Canadians:

37. Mathieu Laurin, 5:04.01
61. Trevor Porter, 5:17.91
66. Jordie Lunn, 5:22.34
68. Michael Jones, 5:23.29
72. Hugo Donais, 5:26.84