Niyonshuti back in medal hunt

As he competes in 40km individual time trial race RWANDA’s top cyclist Adrien Niyonshuti will have another shot at a medal in Delhi when he competes in the 40km individual time trial race. The race will be held in two heats; the first one will pace off at 10am at Noida express highway while the second one takes one ah hour later.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rwanda's top cyclist Adrien Niyonshuti

As he competes in 40km individual time trial race

RWANDA’s top cyclist Adrien Niyonshuti will have another shot at a medal in Delhi when he competes in the 40km individual time trial race.

The race will be held in two heats; the first one will pace off at 10am at Noida express highway while the second one takes one ah hour later.

Niyonshuti, who rides for South Africa’s MTN Energade, will feature in the second heat. The rider, who is phenomenon in hilly terrains, is eager to bounce back after a disappointing display in Sunday’s 168km road race where he dropped out after clashing with several other riders.

"This is a new challenge and I’m up for it. I was unfortunate to clash on Sunday but like I said, this is a new challenge and I’m read to give it my all,” the 23-year-old said.

With no Bradley Wiggins or Geraint Thomas, England’s Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Scotland’s David Millar (Team Garmin-Transitions) are among the gold medal favorites.

New Zealand will be worth keeping an eye on with veteran Gordon McCauley, bronze medalist in the 2006 Commonwealth Games individual time trial and winner of this year’s Tour of Tasmania, no doubt looking for a strong finish.

Canadian National time trial champion Svein Tuft (Team Garmin-Transitions) is also a medal contender, since his silver at the 2008 World Championships time trial he’s been putting in solid performances including a second overall in this year’s Tour of Denmark.

Ends