Steve Peat signs with Santa Cruz Syndicate

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One of mountain biking's worst-kept secrets has been confirmed as the Santa Cruz Syndicate team has announced that top British downhiller Steve Peat has inked a deal with the team. Peat will join the powerhouse squad of the Santa Cruz Syndicate to achieve the goal of world recognition in the gravity arena. The Syndicate alliance will support Peat for the next three years as the two-time UCI World Cup downhill champion continues his royal reign.

Peat said, "I am excited to be able to ride the Santa Cruz range of bikes, especially the V-10." On his web site, he added "I am very thankful to all at Orange [Orange Mountain Bikes England; his sponsor through 2005] for helping me win 2 World titles and numerous other races. It has been long and very hard for me to come to this decision but I truly think it is the best for my racing career. To have a professional race set up like Santa Cruz behind me is going to allow me to focus 100% on my racing. I am sad to leave Orange and would like to thank everyone there for making the last 4 years fun and supporting me at the races."

Rob Roskopp, owner of Santa Cruz Bicycles said, "I'm excited we were able to get Steve to become part of the Syndicate. I aimed to create a group of powerful, talented riders and personalities. The addition of Steve will further enhance the program. I expect that Steve's incredible bike handling skills coupled with the V-10 will produce many wins. With Steve's years of racing experience I have no doubt he'll bring great insight into further developing future Santa Cruz products."