Confederation of Africa Cycling president, William Newman believes that Nigeria would pedal to the France 2024 Olympic Games.
Newman from Cape Town, South Africa who is also the president of South Africa Africa Track Commission, said that Cycling has improved in Nigeria so much that the country has dominated Africa in the competitions they participated in recently.
According to him, Nigeria is currently occupying the first position in Africa based on her performance at the recent continental championships featured as well as the World Championship in Latin America.
Noting that Nigeria has world-class Velodrome constructed for the 2003 Eighth All Africa Games, Newman while fielding questions from journalists in Abuja, said proper exposure would be required to sharpen the cyclists for the challenges ahead.
“We have excellent relationship with Nigeria Cycling Federation. Cycling has improved in Nigeria, they participated in the World Track Championship in Colombia and in the African Nations Cup a couple of months ago that enable them to qualify for the World Track Cycling Championship which was held in France last month and they made history being first time Nigeria was represented at the world championships.
“It was women team that qualified and they were very popular. If you look at Commonwealth Nations and Games, Nigeria is ranked first and that is ground breaking for the Nigeria Cycling Federation. The federation has improve under the president, Giandomenico Massari and his team. It’s our pleasure to work with him and show our cooperation. Already, Nigeria has qualified for the world championships and they are planning on how they will improve their standard. Nigeria has already taken a step to get to international standards and they are starting with the Nations Cup next year.
“The federation is also working to be in 2024 Olympic and that’s a huge statements. Nigeria is over 200 million people and 36 states they can achieve all these objectives, and what is required is dedication from the president. So, I’m here to guide and advise, and I think Nigeria community are aware of cycling. With this objectives, hopefully, we can get sponsors, they need a lot of equipment especially bicycles,” he pointed out.
