Cyclists' hopes punctured at BBC SPOTY awards

Two cyclists nominated for Sports Personality of the Year but they fail to gain much public support

So it's that time of year when we celebrate sporting achievement (and their personality apparently) at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards (also known as SPOTY) and the public gets to vote for their favourite sportsperson from a list of nominations. This year the twelve nominees, elected from a panel that included olympians, heads of sports organisations, and individuals from sports media outlets came from the following areas: tennis (1), motorsport (1), track and field (3), boxing (1), cycling (2), rugby (1), football (1), gymnastics (1), and swimming (1).

The winner and runner-up were the sole representatives of their sports on the shortlist - tennis and rugby respectively. Third placed Jessica Ennis-Hill was one of three athletes in contention from the world of track and field. So it was good to see someone from that discipline up there in the roll of honour.

However, neither of the cyclists featured highly in the results. It looks even worse when you consider that both of them had achieved historical feats this year. Chris Froome became the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice, while Lizzie Armitstead was crowned World Road Race Champion on the back of a glittering run since the 2012 Olympics.

Andy Murray who was voted the Sports Personality of the Year 2015 did not win any major singles title at all. The closest he got to touching a Grand Slam trophy was during his spectacular defeat by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January. There then followed the usual British semi-final/quarter-final exit for the remaining Grand Slams. Although Murray won the Davis Cup tournament, that was a team event, and the Great Britain team received an award for that during the SPOTY ceremony on Sunday in Belfast.

Kevin Sinfield, the rugby player who finished second in this public-vote competition, did not win any specific championships during 2015. It appears that he received votes for being a really loyal and consistent athlete who scored loads of points during his career. Well done!

Since the winner is chosen on the basis of the number of on-line and telephone votes received from the public my question is why was there such muted support for Froomey and Lizzie (who finished 6th and 10th respectively in the vote) despite their achievements?

Note that the total number of scores amassed by the two cyclists was less than the number of votes received alone by Tyson Fury, the boxer who many campaigned to have removed from the list of nominations following his misogynistic and homophobic comments. He even finished fourth in the competition - close behind 2012 Olympics poster girl Jessica Ennis-Hill!

Scores on the doors

1st Andy Murray (tennis) - 361,446
2nd Kevin Sinfield (rugby) - 278,353
3rd Jessica Ennis-Hill (heptathlon) - 79,898
4th Tyson Fury (boxing) - 72,330
5th Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) - 48,379
6th Chris Froome (cycling) - 39,007
7th Mo Farah (athletics) - 31,331
8th Max Whitlock (gymnastics) - 25,952
9th Greg Rutherford (long jump) - 23,492
10th Lizzie Armitstead (cycling) - 22,356
11th Adam Peaty (swimming) - 13,738
12th Lucy Bronze (football) - 13,236

1,009,498 votes cast

Some might argue that the SPOTY public vote throws up lots of anomalies. For instance, if it is also about an individual's personality how has someone who appears so dull and deadpan like Andy Murray managed to win twice? And why didn't Max Whitlock finish higher up in the placings after becoming the first British male gymnast to win a World Championship title?

My questions come against the backdrop that cycling is constantly being talked about as a sport that has garnered a phenomenal increase in interest from the public. Look at the crowds that turned out on the streets of Yorkshire and London for the Grand Depart last year. Furthermore, cyclists have had a track record for winning SPOTY - from Tom Simpson in 1965, Chris Hoy in 2008, Mark Cavendish in 2011 and Bradley Wiggins in 2012.

Perhaps the fact that Chris Froome's achievement at this year's Tour de France occurred under a cloud of scepticism and suspicion over doping. As for Lizzie Armitstead's outstanding season and her win at the World Road Race Championships, this seems largely to have slipped underneath everything!

I guess for Tyson Fury, whatever you think about him everybody knew his name by the time the SPOTY awards ceremony took place. And for him and his PR team they probably stuck firmly to the adage "there is no such thing as bad publicity"!

Perhaps next year the cyclists will be back. After all, in the last two Olympic years it was a cyclist who won the BBC award. Maybe Rio will bring good fortune to our pedal-powered heroes, and who knows we might see people ringing in or clicking their mouse in favour of Laura Trott or perhaps even Wiggo again!


Related article

SPOTY - It's not about the BBC

Hello to Wiggle Honda!

My first gig of the year was a trip across to Ghent for the launch of the Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling team. Around 15 journos were taken by Eurostar care of Wiggle/Brand Nation to meet the likes of Dani King, Giorgia Bronzini, and newly crowned World Omnium Champion Annette Edmondson.

Photo by Wiggle Honda

I have been to team launches of women's teams before but not one like this. The hotel, the Standton in Ghent was pretty neat and reminded me of hotels from another world - that's to say hotels where you have a sojourn rather than a functional hotel to crash. It's a shame we were only there for one day!

Back to the launch, the girls were presented at a nearby PoortAckere monastery, where each one in turn rode up the aisle to the reach the stage on their Colnago V1-r bikes. I can't think when I've even seen someone cycle on the interior of a religious establishment - I guess there's a first for everything.

It was good to catch up with a few folks I'd met previously - like Dani King, Giorgia Bronzini and their photographer Bart Hazen. At these things it's also a chance to make a few more contacts. I finally got to meet team manager, Rochelle Gilmore, who certainly sounds very savvy.

He mother was also in attendance, which was jolly supportive her. I must admit, I'd seen her around and had assumed she was a friend of Rochelle's or her sister - rather than her mother. She looked very young and glamorous!

As the team is supported by The Bradley Wiggins Foundation, and Brad was in Belgium on that day in advance of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, I wondered if he might make an appearance. But there was no sign of him.

One person who did show up and seemed very welcomed was Marc Coucke, CEO of Omega Pharma. There is speculation that Omega may in future sponsor the team.

Anyway, it was a good day out. I interviewed a number of the women, including young British riders Amy Robinson, Anna Christian.



My write-up on the launch is currently on the Sportsister website, and there's a Dani King interview due to go into Cycling Weekly in the future - other bits and pieces will go on this site too.

My moment of the week - 3

Another step towards equal pay

News from Twenty20 Cycling

Milestone: Koppenbergcross is the first European cyclocross to give equal prize money, powered by Twenty20 Cycling.

The Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde sets a new milestone in the history of cyclocross. In cooperation with the American company Twenty20 Cycling we are the first European cyclocross to provide equal prize money for men elite and women. So far there was a gap of over five thousand euros between the prize scales for men and women in first category races, such as the Koppenbergcross. A gap that the Sint-Pietersvrienden, organizers of the Koppenbergcross, now decided to close.

 

The winner of the GP Twenty20 Cycling (the new name of our women’s race) on Saturday November 1st 2014 is no longer rewarded by 350 euros but by 1667. Exactly the same as the next winner of our GP Willy Naessens for men elite. The same counts for all riders further down the results of our men and women’s race. A clear signal with which we hope to help the current growth of the Koppenbergcross and women’s cyclocross. So far, the world championships were the only cyclocross races on European soil to give equal prize money.

The British rider Helen Wyman – European champion cyclocross, member of the cyclocross committee of the international cycling federation, triple winner of our race and resident of Oudenaarde – is obviously happy with this step.

 

"In my eyes, this is a huge step. It is a very significant moment for women's cycling. This allows women to make one step up the ladder towards equality. I spend a lot of my free time trying to advance women’s cyclocross and I hope this will lead to a chain reaction of races who do the same, as I know the support is there from sponsors, supporters and riders. To be a part of this development for the sport is fantastic for me.”

“For the Koppenbergcross to be the first race in Europe to do this is very special. I love the Koppenbergcross, to me it is the biggest race outside of the World Championships. It is legendary. To have an American sponsor back the race shows how significant it is around the world. I can't thank Twenty20 Cycling enough on behalf of all of the racers that take part next season. I'm certainly already looking forward to the GP Twenty20 Cycling and hope to collect another cobble stone in 2014.”

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I am very pleased to hear such positive news for women's cycle racing, especially in a world where the gap in prize money between the genders is shameful.

 

The winner of the 2013 Tour de France won 450,000 euros. The winner of the women's equivalent race in 2013, the Giro Rosa, won 460 euros! Marianne Vos, one of the greatest female cyclists, who has World Championship titles not just in cyclo cross but also in road racing and track cycling, plus Olympic titles can earn up to 80,000 euros per year. That is a decent salary, but compare that to the 2 million euros of Bradley Wiggins!

 

Furthermore professional male cyclists in a ProTour team are guaranteed a minimum salary of 30,000 euros per year. Women racers in equivalent level teams, on the other hand receive no minimum salary, with some only earning just 6,000 euros per annum, and many having day jobs in parallel to their cycle racing.

I understand that lobbying is constantly taking place, not least by the women racers themselves, and  the world cycling governing body, the UCI is (supposedly) looking into it. However, the wheels of change are turning very slowly.

 

It is good to hear this positive news and I hope it is the start of a turnaround in attitudes to prize money for women in sport.

Bye Bye Giro!

So that's it - another Giro d'Italia done and dusted for this year. It was fun, it was exciting, it was eventful, with heightened suspense on the last day.

Work commitments had not allowed me to go out and watch any of the earlier stages of the Giro, but I was pleased to have made it to the finale in Brescia.

The sun shone, it was warm, and I managed to catch up with a couple of friends, including Yvette from Pinarello, who was working with a cycle touring company on the day.

Brescia was jam packed with people from all over the world, it seemed. I guess it is testament to the fact that the Giro has come of age. People are talking about it so much more than they did 10 years ago. The field has cyclists from a broader range of countries, giving the race a wider appeal. All the who's who of international cycling target the Giro nowadays, with this year having a particularly stella line-up of big hitters in the shape of Bradley Wiggins, Vicenzo Nibali, Ryder Hesjedal and Cadel Evans. The organisers have even made an effort to put their promotional messages and materials in English - hence the presence of the ubiquitous Anthony McCrossan doing live commentary for the English-speaking audience. The BBC even included the latest from the Giro in their regular sports bulletins - something we would not have seen a couple of years ago.

So, credit to RCS Sport for putting on a great event and for holding things together even when the weather was challenging.

And thanks to Marco from Gazzetta dello Sport for getting me a ringside seat to see the action, and to Mark Cavendish for providing me with something amazing to watch - especially in the final 200m!

My own private cronoscalata - Mori to La Polsa!

On a recent trip to Lake Garda I decided to try out what is effectively stage 18 of this year's Giro d'Italia. I picked up the cycle path from Riva del Garda, where I was staying and followed the signs for Rovereto. After around 10km I arrived in a small town called Mori. From there it was an uphill ride to the mini ski resort of La Polsa.

I had been quite apprehensive about taking on this challenge since I had no idea what the route would be like, and from my knowledge of the Giro d'Italia, organisers make the hill climb stages, or cronoscalata pretty tough. I still remember how riders had to use a 34 x 29 gearing in order to ride up the 25% Plan di Corones on a wet day a few years ago.

The area in the immediate vicinity did not appear to have any serious hills, however the upper sections of the climb are only just in the shadow of Monte Baldo - the main mountain range in that area. So this climb would certainly be challenging towards the end.

So off I went up the numerous hairpins. This was all very straightforward with unchallenging gradients and parts of the climb went through the trees so on a warm day it would be nice and shady. As I rose further and further up the mountain the town of Mori became smaller and smaller. Eventually, after 9km I reached the town of Brentonico which had more life going on than I would find for the whole 20km - which wasn't that much at all. I imagine that there'll be alot of crowds here on the day, of the race given the number of cafes and hotels, but on the day I rode up the place was quite deserted.

It was nice to get a little respite on my arrival at Brentonico, for in this town the road levelled off and then dropped downhill quite steeply for around half a mile. Some climbing specialists might feel a little short-changed finding some downhill during a hillclimb, but I wasn't complaining!

Once out of Brentonico the road began to climb gradually again, and after 5km I reached the village of Prada. If I were spectating this event, I would hang out here. It's not a very big place, but there are a few shops and bars. There is also a great view back across the valley where it would be possible to see the riders snaking their way up the road way in the distance. There are also some areas where you can sit in the woods and enjoy a picnic. Even though it was nice and sunny on this Sunday afternoon, the temperature was a little bit too cold for a picnic though. So I pushed on.

Once past Prada, the proper work began. The narrow road rounded a corner and the gradients became steeper, as Brentonico was well and truly left behind and my views were now of the mountains near Monte Baldo.

As I rode up the climb I felt myself become more tired as my breathing became more laboured, and the air became crisper as I scaled past the 1000m altitude mark. There were more and more switchbacks, there was a greater abundance of fir trees, and the carpet of snow showed no sign of going away any time soon. It was a pretty desolate road. Once at the summit I was glad to see a little life at Polsa - even if it was just a handful of sledgers!

Overall, the climb had not been so tough. I have had worse experiences on hills in the south of England! It was a nice and steady climb, with pleasant views of pastures at the bottom and an alpine resort at the top - nothing horrendously challenging, but nothing spectacular to look at, like what you might find in the Dolomites proper either.

One memorable thing did happen though - as I was riding up I saw a BMC car riding down the hill, with a certain Cadel Evans zooming down to Polsa. I smiled and said "Ciao" to him and he managed a quick wave back as he negotiated a hairpin. Surely he should have been the one going up the hill?? Well, I can only imagine he was finishing off for the day after having done a few reps of this road earlier in the morning! I'll let him off!

My planned onwards itinerary had been to drop down the other side of the hill towards San Valentino and San Giacomo and then rejoin a the high road back to Desenzano del Garda (possibly with a stopover for some Bardolino)!

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be. I'd been struggling to find the road back to San Valentino. According to my map I should have been able to ride through the resort to continue my journey, however I appeared to be in a cul-de-sac. On asking a local for directions he said, "You want to go to San Valentino? That's the road over there!" And he pointed to a ski track through the snow! Err, that wasn't going to be an option for me on my road bike! My plan B and plan C alternatives were also dead in the water (or rather in the snow) for they also made up part of the network of pistes for La Polsa ski resort! I hadn't expected to see quite so much snow on the roads in mid April. Hopefully that snow will be gone by May or the team cars will need snow ploughs on the front!

So I resorted to plan L - lunch in Rovereto, but not before enjoying the long descent back to Mori. I wasn't complaining about that! 

This climb, like all climbs in the Giro will be interesting to watch. The fact that it is a time trial means lots of time to see lots of riders grinding up the road, as opposed to seeing 200 riders zoom by very quickly. Even if this cronoscalata is no Plan di Corones or Alpe d'Huez it will still make for an exciting scenario by that stage of the competition when the likes of Signori Nibali, Evans Uran Uran and Co battle for vital seconds so close to the end of the Giro d'Italia. 

Out of interest, I timed myself. Including stops for taking photos, eating, fettling my bike and general faffing, the ride up with a rucksack, took me 2 hours and 20 minutes. Most people will do this quicker than me, as I am the queen of faff and fettle, much to the irritation of my ride partners! Anyway, this snail pace will be no comparison to the 40mins or so that the pros will take! That's why they will be riding up the hill on 23rd May and I will be putting my feet up and watching!

My moment of the week - 7

The end of two eras


In the last couple of weeks two giants of cycling have announced their retirement from professional competition. On April 18th Britain's greatest olympian cyclist, Sir Chris Hoy announced that he was quitting racing. This was then followed by Italian super-sprinter, Alessandro Petacchi who, on April 20th announced he'd be hanging up his bike for the time being.

I hope it's not something in the water! There are some commonalities between the two athletes though.

In a way, it is probably no coincidence that these guys are ending their professional careers. At 37 years of age, Sir Chris Hoy did not feel that he could be on top of his game for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.

Ale-jet had started his 2013 campaign with solid performances at the Spring classics, including Paris-Roubaix, but he too realised that at almost 40 years old he could not hold his own against other sprinters. It is also a shame for Petacchi, as it would have been great to see him illustrate his "gentlemanly" brand of sprinting to win at the Giro d'Italia this weekend.

Both of these cycle racers have had hugely successful careers, and are both seen as national treasures in their respective countries.

They are both polite in their behaviour, to the point of being a bit too "goody two shoes" and not very "rock'n'roll". Hoy is very placid and straight-laced in his appearance compared with other great British cycling champions and fellow track cyclists, Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish. The same can be said when Petacchi is compared to that other great Italian sprinting champion, Mario Cipollini.

There are couple of subtle differences between Sir Chris and Ale-jet though. While both of them are very correct in their behaviour, Petacchi has served a competition suspension for overuse of the asthma drug, Salbutamol. Hoy has never tested positive for any banned substance.

Also, while Chris Hoy leaves behind a few sprinting heirs at the velodrome, notably in the shape of Jason Kenny, the sprinter from La Spezia doesn't seem to have any obvious stallion to succeed him from the Italian stable. There must be a bit of headscratching going on in the Italian cycling federation as they search to identify a strong contender who can produce consistently impressive results.

I guess this also leaves a convenient space for Petacchi to step in as a mentor or an ambassador for a future generation - something which Sir Chris has already sounded out as an activity he will be engaging in over the coming months. We may even also see a range of Petacchi bicycles, rather like we have seen with Hoy and other retired professional cycle racers.

All that sounds great, and positive. I just hope the guys don't go down that well worn path to image denigration by appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Big Brother, or some other trite "celebrity" reality show!

Thanks for your contributions to sport, guys. All the best for the future!

Le Cyclisme - Quick, hide behind the Sofa !

So Vino and his team have left Le Tour; now Bradley Wiggins can't continue thanks to his drugged team mate, Cristian Moreni; Rasmussen's gone back to Lake Garda in disgrace; Sit down protests; bombs in the Basque area. What next ?? Well at least we now have a yellow jersey wearer (Alberto Contador) !

But with all this Tour de Farce, I'm not sure I really want to watch the race.
Great, so the Tour de France is getting more air time and column inches on mainstream media than the perfunctory one-liners it usually gets. It's a shame it's all for the wrong reasons though.

Hats off to the organisers who are determined to stamp out the doping problem. But doing this all in mid-competition almost makes me want to hide behind the sofa like I did when watching Dr Who as a child. Then, I was scared to see my hero get exterminated. Now, I fear which rider will get caught in the net and disgraced next - maybe one of my favourites (Tom Boonen, George Hincapie, Fabian Cancellara et al) . Alot of people liked Alexandre Vinokourov. It was a real shock to discover he had been cheating. Maybe Messrs Prudhomme and Clerc should just tap me on the shoulder and let me know when it's ok to come out from behind the sofa. Somehow I don't think that'll happen very soon !

Well, at least L'Equipe sports newspaper is today reporting on a doping scandal in athletics - maybe things aren't so bad in the world of cycling !

Oh, to be in LONDON - The Great Tour Send-off

The Tour de France has started ! And what a great place for it to start !
Of all the places where it could start, nothing could match the wonderful scenes in London. It's not always guaranteed that when the Tour starts outside of France that it would be in the best place that country has to offer.

The team presentation at Trafalgar Square, under Nelson's column, with concert by R'n'B singer, Lemar. A prologue that went through all the famous sites - Whitehall, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the Mall. Stage 1 filing out of London passing the London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and then finishing at Canterbury Cathedral. A bike course fit for Kings - shame they couldn't stop and take photos !

As a spectator it was pretty surreal - being able to walk around these places that are normally heaving with traffic. From Friday to Sunday major thoroughfares like Whitehall, the Mall, Park Lane were ruled by pedestrians and cyclists.


We spent Saturday afternoon watching the prologue - all 189 of them at various points of the course - along Victoria Street, Buckingham Palace, and Constitution Hill. I made this point my final viewpoint as I got to see the riders travelling in both directions, and it was also to the 1km to go mark. Being opposite Green Park, where there was a big TV screen meant there was commentary as well.

Stanley moved on further to watch the riders at Hyde Park corner, where they were greeted by enormous crowds in Hyde Park.

My memories of the prologue are :

The sight of French Gendarmes on their French registered motorbikes and in French police cars in the middle of London !

The sheer speed of the riders as they passed - especially Fabian Cancellera - in excess of 55km per hour.

The sound of some of the director sportives shouting at their riders over a tannoy as they followed them in the team car - Venga Venga ! Andiamo ! Allez Allez !


The party atmosphere among the 2 million spectators that thronged the streets.

The ear shattering roar from the spectators as certain riders came past - notably Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, David Millar Fabian Cancellera, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinoukourov.

The warm sunshine that was especially arranged for the day.


I didn't go to watch Sunday's proceedings as I had to prepare for the road racing I was doing that afternoon. From what I saw from the TV though, it looked like there was just as much enthusiasm along the roads through Kent. More than a million lining the streets. And they say England isn't a biking nation !!

I hope the riders had as great a time during the event as we had watching it.


Whatever you think of Ken Livingstone, you've gotta hand it to him on this one. I can't imagine any other Mayor of London laying on such a fiesta ! Thanks alot Ken !

Weekend Round-Up

My weekend was fairly fun-packed. The sight and sound of the heavy showers early on Saturday morning put me off making the journey to the MOD Chertsey - especially knowing that I was going to have to face a soaking just riding over to the event. Instead I caught up on my house-hold chores before tackling an interval session on the turbo trainer.

The weather was much better on Sunday so I made the journey down to Thruxton (near Andover) to do Susie's Circuit Race. I like doing this one because although it's billed as a women-only event, you actually race with the 4th category men. This way, you get the full benefit of the 40-strong peloton. Then you get a placing out of the women that were there. It's harder work if they set-off just a small group of women together.

The race was crash free (for once !) and went ok - except that I was slow to get out of the saddle for the sprint, and ended up off the back in the closing stages of the race. I managed 7th out of 9 women starters. Not that pretty a result, but I still earned some British Cycling points. My total tally is now in double figures, and I have already exceeded last year's score. That's progress !

So it was a good excuse to celebrate my small success with merrymaking at the Cuban Carnival held at Southwark Park - replenished my glucose stores with jerk chicken and rice (not entirely cuban), rehydrated with beer (slightly cuban), and used what energy I had left for salsa dancing (very cuban) - or at least my version of it !


Another person who may have a reason to celebrate this weekend is Frenchman Christophe Moreau (Ag2R), who won the Daphine Libere Criterium. This race, which crosses the French alps, is seen as a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France. The results a rider obtains in this race is a reflection of what they are likely to get in "La Grande Boucle". Could this be a good omen for Monsieur Moreau ? There hasn't been a Frenchman win the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985. Now wouldn't that be a coup ??

Londoner, and Olympic track medallist Bradley Wiggins (Cofidis) finished 95th in this race (out of 149 starters). What's more significant is that he won the prologue. So there's every reason for I and loads of other cycling aficionados to be out in Hyde Park on 7th July to watch what could be a historic moment for British Cycling.


Another reason for me to be at Hyde Park that weekend is to do the Tour de France women's support criterium race on the 8th July. Now if Bradley could win the prologue and I could win the women's race that would be a dream ! Ok, I'd be happy with one out of two of those scenarios. Somehow, I know which one of them is much more likely to happen !