SA’s biggest winning road pro, Malcolm Lange, is focusing strongly on victory at the upcoming Mr Price Tour Durban.

“It’s a race with a lot of importance for the corporates and it provides a last chance to get major exposure for your sponsors before winter really starts to set in,” said the Microsoft team captain.

Lange is a past winner of the race and, despite the various changes to the route in recent years, he still feels that “although there are certainly opportunities for climbers, I feel that it could come down to a sprint finish.”

According to Malcolm, the wind could also be a factor, and cites the fact that “at last year’s race we had to contend with a head wind all the way back from Ballito.”

He says that the Mr Price Tour Durban is “definitely one of the highlights on this year’s Microsoft racing programme.”

This year there is a very unusual “curved ball” in Microsoft’s cycling armoury in the form of Nicolas White.

At the time of writing Nic, together with team-mate Anke Erlank, was leading the mixed couples section of the gruelling Cape Epic and this could provide some invaluable preparation for the Mr Price Tour Durban.

“Nic has won the race before, and it may well be that the Cape Epic experience will put the finishing touches to his build –up. If that is the case, then the team may set the race up for him if there’s not enough speed in my legs,” added the modest Lange.

From a man who has notched up over 330 pro victories on the road in SA so far, and  who won a very brisk 1 500 metre race on the track just a few weeks ago, it’s an unlikely scenario, but it does show that Microsoft and Lange are serious about the Mr Price Tour Durban – very serious, indeed!
 
The Mr Price Tour Durban takes place on Sunday, April 24.