Matt Beers, professional mountain bike racer

South African cyclist Matt Beers has done a little bit of everything when it comes to racing on two wheels. Starting out in motocross, he turned to mountain biking after he was sidelined by an injury, going on to win the South African Marathon National Championships and the Cape Epic stage race in 2021. After an impressive but unlucky showing at Cape Epic in 2019, he was invited to guest ride on the WorldTour road team UAE Emirates. These days, he's spending more time state-side on the gravel circuit. At the beginning of the year, he placed second at Belgian Waffle Ride and elected to do the double-header, Leadboat, earlier this month.

Matt joins Payson a few days after completing Leadboat to talk about why he's chosen to spend so much time in the US this year racing gravel and how his first Leadville went He reflects on his time as a stagiere with UAE, why it made him doubt his choice of career, and how it transformed the way he approaches training. He also talks about how winning Cape Epic changed his life, why he was out riding the day after Leadboat, and the impressive power numbers that caught the eye of the WorldTour.