The credibility of cycling as a sport was undoubtedly damaged worldwide by the recent exposé about the use of banned substances by Lance Armstrong, seven times winner of the Tour de France.
However, Malcolm Lange, owner of the Bonitas Cycling Team and a former sprint legend, begs to differ. “I think South African cycling stands to benefit from the whole Armstrong debacle. People have always wondered why South Africans do not win major international races. They are now beginning to realize why.
“My own international cycling career was cut short because I was not prepared to become involved in the use of banned substances. But it has become a different ball game. Officials are now determined to clamp down seriously on the cheats and I think cycling will become even stronger in South Africa because of this. Young riders realize that the playing field is being levelled.”
Lange and Douglas Ryder, owner of the MTN-Qhubeka team, could well be described as the saviours of South African cycling. Thanks to their vision it has become easier for South African riders to compete internationally. Ryder has taken South African cycling to an entirely new level with his decision to register MTN-Qhubeka as a Pro-Continental Team. He plans for the team to be the first African-based team to compete in the Tour de France within the next five years.
Lange signed a deal with a French Continental team, which will enable his riders to compete in Europe on a rotating basis.
But this does not mean that South Africa’s top riders will be lost to local racing. In fact, the battle for supremacy between the riders of MTN-Qhubeka and Bonitas promises to be a definite highlight in the forthcoming Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge (18 November).
This battle between the two teams is actually a continuation of the rivalry between Lange and Ryder, one of the oldest rivalries in South African cycling.
During the years 2000 to 2002 they were fierce competitors as riders, neither being prepared to give or take an inch when it came to important Classics like the Argus and the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge.
Actually the rivalry was so serious that their team-mates almost exchanged blows at the finish of the 2000 edition of the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge. Kosie Laubscher, one of Ryder’s team-mates, even tried to slap Nic White, one of Lange’s team-mates. Luckily the officials stepped in and managed to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.
All sorts of accusations were being thrown around among the riders about an agreement that was supposedly broken. Lange won the race. When asked whether he really considers Ryder to be an ‘enemy’, Lange replied: “No. In fact Douglas and I are the best of friends. We just hyped up our rivalry in the media to create an interest in cycling. Doug and I have great passion for the sport. We both want to see it going in a different direction.
“But there will always be a bit of rivalry between us, even though we have set completely different goals for our respective teams. I think it is good for the sport. Our main goal is to give our riders hope, as well as the scope that we never had when we were riders. They now have a solid platform from which they can launch their international careers.”
With three victories (2000, 2001 and 2008) Lange is the most successful rider in the history of the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge. No wonder that he says he will always have a soft spot for the race. “The Cycle Challenge always makes for interesting racing. It is never merely a straightforward sprint to the line. There are many places where the riders can split up the race and the wind is always an important factor as well. What I always appreciated as a rider, and now as a team-owner, is that Tanya Harford and her team will always take the needs of the professional riders into consideration when planning the race.”
The season long rivalry between the Lange and Ryder camps boils down to the crown of the season race on Cycle Challenge Sunday. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say whichever team walks away with the win will be regarded as the team that ruled 2012 and enter the new season on a high.
For more information on the race visit www.cyclechallenge.co.za
