Like father, like son. Malcolm Lange represented Team SA at the first Olympics the country attended following 32 years of isolation and his son, Tyler, showed he has plenty of talent himself when he won the 2025 Cape Town Cycle Tour.
In the women’s race, Germany’s Pia Grünewald delivered a masterclass in solo riding to clinch the elite title.
Lange, riding for the ASAP World Team, had been in the second group on the road inside the final kilometre of the 109km race, but the jockeying for position in the front group allowed the chasers back into contention.
This allowed Lange to pounce, outsprinting 2012 winner, Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, to win his first and his family’s fourth title.
Near perfect conditions and a highly competitive 186 rider-strong elite men’s field ensured a record-breaking time. A warm and windless morning was exactly what the participants would have ordered if they could.
Tt still took aggressive racing throughout tto shatter Robbie Hunter’s 17-year-old previous best of 2hr 27min 29sec.
Lange’s new record mark is 2:25:48– which is 1 minute and 41 seconds quicker.
“The last kay was super-fast and I wasn’t actually sure if it was going to come back together,” Lange beamed.
“Then with about 400 to go we made contact and I managed to get on Reinhardt [Janse van Rensburg’s] wheel and kicked past him.
While the winner was slightly overwhelmed by the gravity of the moment, his father was clearly emotional with his son’s success.
“I tried to get him into every other sport growing up, be it cricket, tennis, or golf, but he kept choosing cycling,” Malcolm said.
“So, we had to support his cycling. He’s raced overseas but as we all know it’s a very hard sport and he’s experienced some knocks and setbacks.
“So, to win a race like this really puts you in a place where you need to be. Hopefully from here it’s onwards and upwards.”
