National cycling team coach Jonathan Boyer doubts Rwanda’s participation in next year’s Beijing Olympic Games.

The Rwandan team’s chances of qualifying for the Olympics faded after finishing12th out of 16 African nations that took part in the UCI B World Championship event held in Cape Town, South Africa from June 26- July 1.

And the American coach told Times Sport upon the team’s arrival from the African Championship held in Yaoundé, Cameroon last week that Rwanda’s chances of heading to China look as good as finished.

"May be if RCU (the national cycling governing body) receives a wild card, they (Rwandan team) would get the chance to participate (in the Games) but without that, there is no way.

With just over nine months to the Games, Rwanda’s chances of getting that wild card are very minimal.

Boyer admitted that Rwanda would have qualified for the Olympics if the cyclists had finished the Cape Town event in the top three but it wasn’t to be.

He however, noted that Rwanda’s cyclists have the natural talent, which could give them a chance to win something big on the continent and beyond in the future, but only if given enough support.

The Rwandan team included Andre Niyonshuti, Abraham Ruhumuriza, and Nathan Byukusenge finished fourth among the 17 countries which participated in last week’s African Championship in Yaoundé.

The event was won by South Africa while Eritrea and Morocco took the second and third spots respectively.

The country’s top rider Ruhumuriza was Team Rwanda’s best finisher in eighth position and was followed by Byukusenge.

Unfortunately their colleague Niyonshuti dropped out of the race after falling off his racing bike in the early stages.

Other countries which took part in the event include; Zambia, Ivory Coast, Angola, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Malawi, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Namibia, and Sao Tome and Principe and hosts Cameroon.

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