Founded in 2022 around the 2021 Absa Cape Epic winner, Matt Beers, team Toyota Specialized is heading into their third season high on confidence.
The squad has expanded to include, Namibian multi-disciplinary champion Alex Miller and the youthful talent of Johan van Zyl. By late last month (February) the team has already amassed a number of major victories, including a national title on the road for Miller and a UCI S1-grade stage race that saw Beers defend his Tankwa Trek title alongside Miller.
“We are proud to see the growth of the team as Toyota Specialized enters its third year,” said Glenn Crompton, vice president of marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM). “Mountain biking is a natural fit for Toyota and being able to apply the old motoring-industry saying of ‘what wins on Sunday sells on Monday’ to cycling is certainly a positive. But the relationship goes beyond the stellar results that Matt has been able to achieve and the results Alex and Johan are sure to continue to produce too.
“They are also superb ambassadors for the sport and for Toyota. Matt, Alex and Johan are approachable young men who perform astronomical feats on the bike. At TSAM we are confident they will fill Toyota drivers and would-be Toyota drivers with the same faith in the vehicles they drive as they do for cyclists when it comes to the Specialized bicycles they race.”
The partnership with TSAM and Specialized Bicycles Africa, based in Stellenbosch, brings two leaders of their respective industries together, though it be by no means Toyota’s only relationship within the cycling industry. The local arm of the largest automobile manufacturer in the world is also the title sponsor of Toyota Cadence, a weekly cycling magazine show on SuperSport, and is the official route and vehicle partner of the Absa Cape Epic.
The eight-day stage race, which starts on Sunday 17 March, is the Toyota Specialized’s next major target for the season. “That little race in March is always a big deal for us,” Beers said.
“I’ll be racing alongside 2018 Absa Cape Epic winner Howard Grotts and we’ll give our all to defend the title for Toyota Specialized Ninety One. Being able to give back to our sponsors, especially Toyota, which has supported me and the team so well over the last two seasons, is really important to me. Anything can happen during the Absa Cape Epic, but one can be sure we’ll be giving it our all from the start of the Prologue until we cross the final finish line in Stellenbosch.”
Miller teams-up with Van Zyl for the race before both shift their focus to cross-country racing. “We’re targeting the Absa African Jerseys, and then I’ll be switching focus to the Olympics in Paris,” she explained.
“I feel the mix between marathon and cross-country racing helps keep me mentally fresh, and I enjoy the diversity of the challenges the switch between the two provides.”
As the youngest member of the team Van Zyl is eager to learn from Beers and Miller. “I’d say I’m the quiet one in the team, and I’m happy to have Matt and Alex as teammates. I’ve already learnt so much from them and I’m really looking forward to racing alongside Alex at the Absa Cape Epic, because I know that will be a great opportunity to gain invaluable experience.”
Added Bobby Behan, managing director of Specialized Bicycles Africa: “The Absa Cape Epic is always one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the year. The success of Specialized Bicycles in South Africa is arguably influenced by the brand’s legacy of success in the race. From Christoph Sauser’s first victory, alongside Silvio Bundi in 2006, to the fantastic double success of Susi [Sauser] and the late-great Burry Stander, and on to Matt victories in 2021 and 2022. Winning the Untamed African Mountain Bike Race allows us to prove we have the best marathon and stage racing mountain bike, which is essential to the South African market.
“It would, however, not be possible to win bike races without world-class athletes and the support of world-class partners. Having Toyota as the title sponsor of the team provides Matt, Alex and Johan with the support they need to focus on riding their bikes and being the best athletes they can be. Toyota’s professionalism and commitment has been the backbone of the team’s success for the last two years and will continue, I’m sure, in the years to come.”
After the Absa Cape Epic Beers’ focus will switch to gravel racing as he heads to the USA to race the Life Time Grand Prix series, which includes the world’s most famous gravel race, Unbound Gravel on Saturday 1 June.
Miller will chase Olympic dreams in Paris after taking part in the European leg of the UCI cross-country World Cup season. Van Zyl will join Miller for a number of cross-country races in Europe as he continues his development and chases Olympic qualification for the 2028 cycle, which culminates in the summer games in Los Angeles.
The trio are therefore competing across a range of disciplines and will be seen putting the Specialized Epic, Epic Evo, Diverge STR gravel bike and Tarmac road bikes through their paces. They will compete in a Van H cycling kit, fuelled by Cadence Nutrition and will be able to see every obstacle in the trail ahead, thanks to Oakley Eyewear. Specialized Bicycles’ comprehensive range of accessories provide the team with helmets, shoes, and gloves, while its in-house component brand, Roval, supplies wheels and selected other components. Thule ensures its bicycles are transported safely to every race on the industry’s leading bike racks, fitted to the squad’s Toyota Hilux bakkies.
Beers, Miller and Van Zyl can each be seen driving to races in a co-branded, Toyota Specialized, Toyota Hilux.
