BEIJING, August 23, 2008 (AFP) - A first Olympic mountain bike participation for Zimbabwean Antipass Kwari ended in disaster here Saturday after the African suffered an early puncture and abandoned the race.

Dressed in a distinctive black jersey with green and yellow stripes, Kwari had been hoping to at least showcase the sport to an African audience during a tough two-hour race against some of the world's top riders.

But the 33-year-old failed to really get going as the hazards of mountain biking took their toll on his equipment.

'The race was terrible, and in the first four minutes I had a puncture,' said Kwari, who struggled early on in negotiating the trickier parts of the climbs and descents.

'I had to wait 20 minutes before I could change my tyre and then I had another puncture. And after that, my third (replacement) wheel had too low tyre pressure.'

Kwari came into the race under no illusions about winning a medal, although he would have loved to 'finish in the top ten' on the 4.5km Olympic course that was raced eight times.

He is more used, however, to racing on paths used by locals linking remote villages, and the six-foot wide trails left by elephants as they trudge through the bush.

'I am very disappointed,' he added. 'In the beginning I was in the middle of the group and in training the technical stuff on the track was smooth for me.

'I hoped to make the top ten.'

Two other African racers, South African Burry Stander, and Mannie Heymans of Namibia, dropped out of contention in the early stages of the race.