For the first time in what seems like a lifetime there will be no contender from the world of cycling at this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.
The ten nominees were announced earlier this week with the likes of Rory Mcilroy (some golf bloke) and Lewis Hamilton (some car bloke) leading the nominations. Not one cyclist made the cut. After the glory years of 2011 and 2012 when Cav and Wiggo consecutively claimed the BBC honour, it is quite the comedown.
Of course after Cav’s disappointment in Harrogate and Froomey unfortunately not staying upright long enough to defend his Tour title, there were perhaps no glaringly obvious candidates. However there were riders who should have been in with a chance.
Sir Wiggo is perhaps the most obvious snub. The word ‘snub’ looked like it was going to be the defining one in Wiggo’s season after he was surprisingly left out of Team Sky’s tour squad. However his season soon got better. He won a silver medal on the track at the Commonwealth Games before focusing his attention on the World Championships time trial. In preparation he won the time trial around the streets of London in the Tour of Britain. He went on to absolutely smash the World Champs time trial, beating the great German Tony Martin by an impressive 26 seconds. It was a truly incredible performance and an achievement which should have earned recognition at the Sports Personality of the Year awards. His magnificent beard alone should surely win some sort of prize.
