A strategic move to gravel and consistent effort to hone his strengths has seen Matt Beers power to off-road titles both at home and abroad in the past three years . The three-time Absa Cape Epic champion shares what ’ s in store for 2025 .
RIDER WE LIKE | MATT BEERS
GRINDING TO
GLORY
A strategic move to gravel and consistent effort to hone his strengths has seen Matt Beers power to off-road titles both at home and abroad in the past three years . The three-time Absa Cape Epic champion shares what ’ s in store for 2025 .
Matt , it ’ s been so lekker watching you develop into your best form and reap the results over the past few years . We know it ’ s been a long and challenging journey to get where you are , but you are living proof that hard work and great coaching gets the bacon – even if you had to shed some off an already lean big frame . You ’ ve raced for Team Toyota Specialized in SA for a number of years , but in 2024 you also joined the global Specialized Off-Road Team . Tell us how this has impacted your racing calendar . The Specialized Off-Road Team is centred around gravel and marathon racing , mostly in the USA . I ’ m on the team with Sofía Gómez Villafane and Howard Grotts , and as of 2025 , Annika Langvad .
As I was racing a lot in the USA and spending time with the global Specialized team it made sense to get their full backing to make my travels easier . As the team is US-based it means spending a lot of time overseas and focusing on the Life Time Grand Prix , a big-league off-road cycling series in the States . Being in the league means I can ’ t really skip races and I have to perform throughout the whole year if I want a good result . It ’ s hard , but it makes things exciting for sure . Gravel is a big deal in America and so is the LTGP series , so it all makes sense for me to elevate my career in this way .
Indeed , a big part of your recent development has been your decision to add gravel to your marathon MTBing career . What made you consider gravel racing and decide to pivot your pro focus ? I could really see gravel starting to
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