![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/154349025_MattBeersToyotaSpecialized1.f40e88d6ae60a44511715709b4d9ceaf-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n\t\tMatt Beers is South Africa\u2019s foremost marathon and stage race mountain biker, he is the current national XCM and Absa Cape Epic champion. Photo by Ray Cox\/Specialized.<\/em>\n\t<\/div>\n
![\"Tristan](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1974030680_TristanNortjeToyotaSpecialized2.16b20918cae954f0cdbaef4b30ff7575-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n\t\tTristan Nortje is undoubtedly one of the most talented young mountain bikers in the country and is sure to grow as a rider with Beers\u2019 mentoring. Photo by Ray Cox\/Specialized.<\/em>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tNortje is indisputably South Africa\u2019s most gifted young rider. Still just 20 years old he has the talent to partner Beers in local stage races, while learning from the team\u2019s senior rider. Along with the early season goal of a stellar Absa Cape Epic performance alongside Mason, of Trinity Racing, Nortje will target select cross-country events; including a number of UCI World Cup races.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe pair have already raced together this season, stepping out at the Momentum Medical Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, four-day stage race. In the Koue Bokkeveld the Toyota Specialized team won the Queen Stage on their way to second overall, behind Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo. On the slopes of the Merino Monster Nortje proved to be the strongest climber in the race, while Beers was at his locomotive best on the undulating terrain.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe are really excited to have Matt and Tristan racing in the Toyota Specialized colours in 2022,\u201d Bobby Behan, Director of Specialized Bicycles Africa, said. \u201cThey\u2019re both exceptionally talented riders and while Matt has already proven himself to be among the world\u2019s best, Tristan has an exciting future filled with personal and professional growth ahead of him. I think their mix of youth and experience will combine well when they race together. But the relationship with Specialized Factory Racing also allows us to tap into the global teams.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\t \n\t\u201cFor the Absa Cape Epic this means that Matt will start his title defence alongside Chris Blevins,\u201d Behan explained. \u201cTristan will race with Trinity Racing\u2019s \u2013 next cyclocross, road and mountain bike superstar in the making \u2013 Cameron Mason. As a global brand with a large South African footprint the Absa Cape Epic is vitally important to Specialized Bicycles. A big part of putting this team together was the dream of creating a team which in a few years could challenge together for the title and hopefully become the first all-South African men\u2019s team to win the race.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re proud that we\u2019ve adopted a holistic approach when it comes to cycling and this shows in the number of properties that we support locally and internationally, including individual cyclists, cycling teams, esports, Corporate Social Responsibility (Pedal Power Association) as well as in-store branding (Cycle Lab). Toyota Specialized is therefore a natural fit for us, and we are confident that this is going to be a successful and mutually beneficial partnership,\u201d stated Glenn Crompton, Vice President of Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs the title sponsor, TSAM\u2019s support to Toyota Specialized will include financial contribution as well as a Corolla Cross for each of the two riders. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a huge privilege to be a part of a massive international brand, like Toyota!\u201d Beers enthused. \u201cMost of our sponsors are big companies in South Africa, but Toyota is on a different level globally. So, it\u2019s pretty surreal to have them backing us as cyclists. And then obviously Specialized too\u2026 they\u2019re one of the biggest brands in the cycling industry internationally, but I\u2019ve also been with them for four years now. It\u2019s really good to have the consistency of that partnership, the support of people I have great working relationships with and to be able to continue to race on their absolutely world-class bikes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\u201cTo be part of a team supported by Toyota and Specialized Bicycles is the highlight of my cycling career thus far,\u201d Nortje confirmed. \u201cI\u2019m focused on doing them proud at the Absa Cape Epic, which is my first big goal for the season, where I\u2019ll be racing alongside Cameron Mason. After Epic I\u2019ll be focusing more on XCO races in Europe and a few World Cups. Later in the year Matt and myself will be doing a few stage races together. We make a good team and complement each other well during all the challenges stage races present. With Specialized and Toyota supporting us, we are definitely a team to be reckon with.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Toyota Specialized team will be racing aboard Specialized S-Works Epic mountain bikes in the majority of their races, but Beers in particular will spend a significant amount of time on the Specialized S-Works Diverge too. Mountain biking fans can stay updated on the team\u2019s progress by following Matt Beers and Tristan Nortje on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information on the bikes they will be racing and the vehicles which will power them to their races please visit www.toyota.co.za<\/a> and www.specialized.com\/za\/en<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t Behemoths of the automotive and cycling industries, Toyota and Specialized Bicycles, have teamed up to support two of South Africa\u2019s most talented mountain bikers in 2022 and beyond. Racing as Toyota Specialized, with the support of Ninety One Asset Management and in benefit of songo.info, the team will target marathon, stage races, gravel bike events […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5305],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-13617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-null"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62153,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13617\/revisions\/62153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13617"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=13617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/304631079_MattBeersToyotaSpecialized5.54c26b8f49f8e4b85ddfd56d32ef37b7-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n\tMatt Beers\u2019 formidable technical skills were developed while racing motocross, before turning his hand to cycling in his early 20s. Photo by Ray Cox\/Specialized.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n![\"Tristan](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/1254587127_TristanNortjeTankwaTrek4.2978d9efc4203f5a804d0df1f888ba8c-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n\tTristan Nortje proved himself the strongest climber in the 2022 Momentum Medial Scheme Tankwa Trek, presented by Biogen, when he distanced his rivals on the Merino Monster ascent. Photo by Ray Cox\/Specialized.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n![\"Toyota](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/80215180_ToyotaSpecializedEpic.aedd9d1f079b12f1e67ac47c2f7d8f58-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
\n\tThe Toyota Specialized team will be driven by Toyota Corolla Cross SUVs and will be racing Specialized S-Works Epic mountain bikes. Photo by Ray Cox\/Specialized.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"