Although Dimension Data's 2015 and 2016 Tour de Langkawi winners in Youcef Reguigui and Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg, respectively, declined to defend their titles, Nick Dougall is back in Malaysia eyeing off a third consecutive team victory.
The British-born South African is one of the key men for current race leader Ryan Gibbons in the sprints but will also be crucial for Mekseb Debesay and Ben O'Connor on the queen stage to Cameron Highlands.
"There is always pressure when you come to races and expectation, most of all, you put on yourself," Dougall told Cyclingnews. "We come here wanting to repeat what we've done the last two years and try and win. We have a lot of cards to play. We brought a strong team with a lot of depth.
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"We have a good mix of younger guys and guys with experience. Jacques has been at the race six times, I have done it three times. Ryan's obviously new, but he raced in Europe last year, and Adrien [Niyonshuti] has been with the team for almost nine years now. It is a good team, and I am really enjoying working with the team this year."
While the 24-year-old is focused on the job at hand, Dougall is also eyeing the race as a preparation for the cobbled classics, his first major aim for the season.
"It would be good to get in a break at some point if the opportunity presents itself and really use the race as a workout before the classics," he said. "I really want to go well there, and I think it is really good build up. I am looking forward to making the race as hard as I can for myself."
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