It was a bitter sweet feeling for both the men and women's winner of the Pick n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge as both Malcolm Lange and Andriette Schoeman won their respective races for the last time with the MTN and Proline teams on Sunday.

Both the riders will line up for new teams in 2009.

For Lange it was an early 35th birthday present. He turns 35 in a week's time and it has been seven long years since he last won the Johannesburg classic.

“I owe this victory to my team, Jay gave me a perfect lead out, we couldn't lose today, it was simply poetry in motion,” said the winner.

Despite the pressure that comes with being the in-form rider, he didn't crack.

“I came here as the favourite and we still won. That is big pressure but being a very quick race, everything was on my side, it was lovely.

“Next year is the start of a new phase in my career, I have formed the Medscheme Cycling team and have brought some of my existing team with me, like Nick White and Neotel's Nolan Hoffman.

For women's winner Schoeman it was satisfaction guaranteed, having taken her tiny Proline team to the line first.

“The older I get the luckier I become,” she said with a wry smile.

“I think this year's finish is a bit tougher than last year's. We came out yesterday and checked it out. We did our homework and it paid off,” the diminutive Port Elizabeth-based sprinter said.

Next year she will ride for a far stronger Nashua team alongside existing team mate Robyn de Groot.

Results of the Pick n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge cycled over 95 kilometres on Sunday:

Men: Elite:

1 Malcolm Lange (MTN) 2:03:39; 2 Herman Fouche (Konica Minolta) same time; 3 Jay Thompson (MTN)

35-39 1 Jaco Ferreira (MP) 40-45 1 Andrew McLean (Cyclelab) 50+ 1 Gary Beneke (DiData)

Juniors 1 Shawn-Nick Bester (Harmony)

Women Elite

1 Andriette Schoeman (Proline) 2:29:00; 2 Lynette Burger (Cyclelab); 3 Cherise Taylor (MTN).

Sapa

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