Funny new video from Santa Cruz features Steve Peat as a drill sergeant giving new recruits Luca Shaw and Loris Vergier a hard time.

UPDATE: 13/01/17 – Santa Cruz Syndicate – Bloopers!

The Syndicate: “All the outtakes, mistakes and more from the 2017 roster announcement!”

New recruits Luca Shaw and; Loris Vergier. Photo by Gary Perkin.

Pretty much everyone already knew that Luca Shaw and Loris Vergier would be joining Greg Minnaar on the Santa Cruz Syndicate so it’s good that that piece of ‘news’ is not the main thing in this video. The main thing in this video is its humour.

What’s the funniest bit? It’s a close call between Peaty’s wildly wandering fake American(?) accent or it’s the appearance of a particularly zen-like Josh Bryceland.

On a vaguely serious note, finally seeing the new Syndicate team does finally hit home what a big change 2017 is going to be for Santa Cruz. No more Peaty. No more Ratboy. Only Minnaar still racing from the previous crew.

Peat and Bryceland will still be with Santa Cruz – as brand ambassador type things – but they’ll no longer be racing for the Syndicate.

As Santa Cruz boss Rob Roskopp says in the press release (see below), it really is a “whole new era for the team”.

Loris Vergier. Photo by Gary Perkin.

Luca Shaw, Photo by Gary Perkin.

Greg Minnaar. Photo by Gary Perkin.

Santa Cruz press release

SHAW & VERGIER JOIN MINNAAR ON SANTA CRUZ

The Santa Cruz Syndicate goes transcontinental in 2017 with fresh signings of Luca Shaw from the USA, and Loris Vergier of France.

The 20 year old recruits join South African veteran Greg Minnaar; three time World Champion and the only man to have 19 World Cup DH race wins to his name.

Under Minnaar’s mentorship, the young American and Frenchman will have support from some of the most experienced people in the sport.

Steve Peat may have stepped back from World Cups, but remains on hand to share two decades of knowledge on areas such as race preparation, line-spotting and bike set-up.

Wrenching legend Doug Hatfield is now assigned to Luca’s pit corner, while Morzine local PA Roche joins the crew to handle all Loris’ race tech needs. Jason Marsh stays on as Greg’s chief bearing polisher, and team manager Kathy Sessler retains the hardest job at Santa Cruz; keeping this circus on the road, with her unique home-from-home vibe.

Josh Bryceland will no longer be racing under the Syndicate banner for 2017, but rest assured he’ll continue riding for Santa Cruz around the world as and when the mood takes him. For those brave enough to tackle his northern British accent, Josh explained the motivation behind his change in direction via a personal question and answer session.

“Luca and Loris are two of the most talented young athletes on the World Cup circuit right now” explains Team Director, Rob Roskopp. “Having them join the Syndicate marks a whole new era for the team.”

“I respect the work done by previous teams to bring Luca and Loris to this point in their careers” continues Roskopp. “It’s only been a few weeks, but they’ve already slotted straight into the Syndicate in a way that feels completely natural and positive. It’s going to be great seeing how they evolve from here, both as racers and individuals.”