A day after his first victory on US soil, after two years of trying, Matt Beers wrote on his Instagram page: “Finally cracked the American code, taking the win at Belgian Waffle Ride California.” 

The 192km Belgian Waffle Ride California, which is one of six in the BWR series and bills itself as a road race “punctuated by severe terrain and 87 kilometres of Unroad riding”, is considered by many to be the granddaddy of gravel racing. For Beers, who finished second in 2022, it was vindication for his decision to set his sights on some the biggest, meanest cycling races on the international calendar as he enters what should be the peak of his career.

That he won BWR California in typical Beers fashion – breaking away, riding solo for 110km and thrilling the US audience much as he does all of us when crushing trails at the Absa Cape Epic – was further proof that like the Beatles and Rolling Stones before him, Matt Beers could break America.

“It was massive for me, massive for Specialized,” says Beers. “Belgian Waffle Ride California and probably Unbound is where it all started for gravel racing, so if you win one of those, the Americans start to know who you are. They’re almost the monuments of gravel.”

Humble as always, what Beers won’t say is that Americans, like many South Africans before them, are also starting to notice the man thanks to his no-nonsense style of digging deep and suffering harder than anyone else. It’s what makes him such a compelling rider to watch, and it’s an attitude that will surely lead to more success – and a growing fanbase – in the US and elsewhere.

We chatted to him between US stints on the doorstep of his home trails in Tokai, Cape Town.

Go early, go hard… or no

After storming to his third Absa Cape Epic title in March this year, with US rider Howard Grotts, and then claiming first place at BWR California (almost) straight off the plane, Beers made a tactical training error. But it’s one he believes will guide his decision-making for the rest of 2024. 

He wanted to push harder after Epic and BWR, even though his coach John Wakefield was not quite in agreement. One training ride was so decadent in distance that Beers almost made it to Mexico after starting in Tucson, Arizona.

“Because I had such good form at Epic, we tried to push that through to Unbound; but I think it was a case of squeezing the lemon too hard. John was against it, but I was keen to push through and see what could happen. In hindsight, it was some mad training miles with Keegan [Swenson, who rides for the Santa Cruz–SRAM htSQD team].

“One week, after BWR, we did something like 40 hours. I was burning the candle at both ends. But you have to try these things to see, otherwise you’ll never know. Every year, you think ‘I should have ridden a bit more’. But now I’m thinking ‘Okay, maybe I’ll ride a little less’.” 

Contributing to the unravelling at Unbound was the sheer ferocity of the racing. Australian rider Lachlan Morton – a Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España finisher, but lately a man increasingly lauded for his madcap cycling endurance feats – was the eventual winner. Also in the field was Swenson and previous Paris-Roubaix winner Greg van Avermaet. 

“The level of racing has really increased over the years and improved at events like Unbound since I first came to the US,” says Beers. “Not only that, but because Unbound is part of a series, these guys race for every point. One point lost at the end of the series could be worth a few thousand dollars.”

Unbound, along with Sea Otter, Leadville, Big Sugar, Crusher in Tushar, Chequamegon and the Rad Dirt Fest make up the Lifetime Grand Prix, which boasts a US$300k prize purse across the men’s and women’s races. No wonder, then, that the racing is hot.

“In South Africa we race a little differently,” says Beers. “When you’re racing at home and you realise that you’re not going to win, you sort of sit up and just finish the event. In the States, there’ll be a rider sitting in 10th position who believes the whole time that he’s going to win. He might not win in the end; but sometimes he will, or he’ll come second. Or just finish 10th. Everyone races full-gas to the very end. 

“At Unbound, the race for 10th place was actually insane, as if we were chasing first. We were racing all the way to the end, getting tactical, and I was just sitting in there going ‘What the fuck is happening? Why are we racing this hard?’ We all knew Lachlan was up the road and going to win. 

“It’s brutal. But it’s shown me that we maybe give up a little too easily in races, back home.” 

Pivotal moments

If training too hard ahead of Unbound was a key learning moment for Beers, it was only because of two other pivotal career moments that led him to that point. As in any career, there are occasions when the lightbulb flashes, or a plan just comes together. 

The first such moment for Beers was when he did a short stint as a stagiaire – an amateur temporarily riding with a pro team – for UAE Team Emirates in 2019. “From the first moment I rode with the UAE team, I realised we don’t train or take things as seriously as these guys do. The amount of attention to detail that goes into training was staggering, a real eye-opener. 

“These guys were all smoking me. I knew I had to approach things differently to be successful.”

“I was looking at a guy like Alexander Kristoff, and how hard he works. These guys were all smoking me. And it actually made sense, because of the amount of work they were putting in. Your coach prescribes the plan, but you have to be willing to take it to the next level. 

“Being with UAE Team Emirates and seeing how those riders operated caused a mindset change. I knew I had to approach things differently to be successful.”

Not long after his time with UAE, and with his new mindset at the forefront, the next pivotal point in the Beers life story occurred. After showing his potential with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 Absa Cape Epic, riding with fellow South African Alan Hatherly, Beers achieved the holy grail of South African mountain biking by winning the 2021 Cape Epic, with French rider Jordan Sarrou. (The 2020 event was cancelled due to Covid.) 

“Winning Epic was massive,” he says. “It came at the right time in my career. If I hadn’t won then, my life would have taken a very different path. Without that win in 2021 there wouldn’t have been Toyota coming onboard as my sponsor, the backing from Specialized, there would be nothing. Without Toyota I wouldn’t have gone to the States the first time. A lot of good things came from the 2021 Epic.”He pauses and stares into his flat white for a while, then remembers that maybe the roots of his current success go even deeper. “My entire career has been built around so many important moments. Without Nico Bell and the NAD team, I wouldn’t have got to that first Epic… 

“If you look back far enough, it all links up, but the real crux was Nico. He gave me the platform to win the Epic with Jordan. Having the organisation and the equipment… I couldn’t have won without the support. Then that led to Toyota joining me and the opportunity to run my own programme, and everything has rumbled on from there.” 

Looking ahead

As the inaugural winner of the South African Gravel Championships in 2022 (and then defending his title last year), and as a two-time national XCM champion, Beers has definitely not turned his back on South Africa to race in the US. He’s honest, however, in his assessment that without new challenges, his motivation to race would wane. 

His intention for 2024 was to defend his national gravel and marathon titles, but a late change in schedule put paid to those ambitions. Relinquishing the SA jerseys without a fight was not done lightly. But it has allowed him to focus on new challenges. 

“I’m definitely not too big for our local events. I will always race locally when I can.”

“It was hard to give up my national jerseys this year, and I’m definitely not too big for our local events. I will always race locally when I can. I enjoy it. I like the challenge. In South Africa the level is getting higher, and it’s nice that guys want to beat me and take me on. 

“I’ve won a lot here; and in my mind, I got to a place where I was thinking, ‘Well, what now? Do I try to win the same race three times, four times?’ You tend to lose a little motivation and get a bit jaded. I certainly didn’t want to get a part-time job!” 

Ever wise to his surroundings, the sharp and shrewd Beers took note of the gravel growth taking place in the US. “I saw the gravel boom starting in the US in 2021, and I knew I had to get there. I knew this was my chance to race somewhere different and push myself. I think I got there just in time for the start of the boom; and I also know that it’s going to become harder and harder to win in the US in the coming years, especially as more World Tour riders seem to be heading that way when they leave road racing behind them.” 

The rider migration, locally and internationally, all appears to be in favour of gravel. According to Beers, “if you’re only going to be at one,” an event like Unbound is the one to be at. The field improves every year as sponsors encourage their riders to race Unbound, and the biggest brands use the race as a platform to soft-launch their latest products and innovations – everything from tyres to groupsets.

“It’s a circus. The brands get it. The riders get it. Lachlan [Morton] was doing a group ride with fans and other riders four days before the main race. The media push behind it is huge, and it makes a big impression on social media, too. If you post anything from Unbound, you get incredible traction.” 

Thanks to a combination of traditional and social media, Beers racing his guts out is not going unnoticed by American cycling fans. His unflappable demeanour and deadpan humour are perfect antidotes to typical social media hysterics, though he does admit that he enlists partner Kayleigh Tuck to help with his posting. 

“You can tell when Kayleigh is with me and when she isn’t,” he says. “There are more spelling errors when she lets me do my own social media! It’s a massive part of being a pro rider now, especially in the States. Winning BWR, and the increased social media presence, has been good for me.”

After BWR Beers was all the rage on the US gravel scene, something that took him by surprise when he tried to register for Unbound in Kansas. “I feel the support. I feel the love. But it’s a lot. I had to take selfies with 40 or more people. Even out on the street while I was riding, guys were stopping me to take photos. It’s quite nice to be recognised; but it does make me a bit nervous that I’m going to say or do something stupid, and then all these people are going to notice!” 

Beers admits that without bikes in his life, he’d probably be doing “something bad. I didn’t do well at school,” he says. “I mean, I chose not to do well. I just hated it. Learning was a struggle for me.” 

Luckily, for the foreseeable future, bikes will very much be a part of his life, as will his adventures in the United States. 

“I haven’t really committed to living in the USA just yet. I’ve got a contract until the end of 2025 with Specialized Off-Road, and I’m using it to figure things out. I’ll be racing in the US next year too, so we might think of staying there. I’m 30 now; 30 to 34, that’s a good age for these long, hard, six-hour days. 

“Lachlan is about 34 and he’s going strong – a lot of the guys racing Unbound are a bit older. It’s been shown that 30 is your endurance peak, so… yeah, I feel like I definitely have a few more years in the tank.” 

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