On Sunday evening the great and the good of British sport will gather at Birmingham’s LG Arena to honour the achievements of our sportsmen and women in celebration of, what has been, a pretty good year for the Brits.
The list of nominees has, as ever, been the source of much discussion amongst British sports fans the length and breadth of the land and will, no doubt, continue to do so until the winner of the most prestigious domestic award for a sportsperson is named in the second city six days from now. As a general sports fan I must admit I often find the whole ‘my sport is better than your sport’ kind of article the most tiresome imaginable. For some reason this always seems to occur between football and rugby union. Spyns former clients would naturally select cycling and a racer as both the best sport and sportsman. However cycling often took second fiddle in a nation of soccer, cricket, and rugby players. That is until now.
For that reason I am more than pleased that neither sport is nominated at this year’s awards – perhaps that’s got something to do with the whole Blood-gate saga, or maybe one too many super-injunctions from the so called exponents of the ‘beautiful game’? That said, I’m of the firm belief that Mark Cavendish should be honoured as the sports personality of the year. Why? Because, and I may sound like a pedant here, he is actually a personality. Sure, the other nine nominees have done brilliantly within their individual sports, but, let’s be honest, how many of them are personalities?
Okay, David Haye’s a character – and it’s not just because I’m concerned the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion will pop into the office and give me a slap. Honest. But that, ever since the days of Muhammad Ali, has been the role of self-promoting boxers hasn’t it? Without listing the attributes of the individual athletes – and the best darts player there has possibly ever been – Cavendish more than ever deserves the award that, despite becoming the most successful British Tour de France cyclist 17 months previously, has eluded him thus far.
Cavendish, after breaking Barry Hoban’s record of stage wins during 2009’s Tour, finally got nominated 12 months previously before voters – no doubt fuelled by partisan-ship and a concerted online campign – opted for Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs. During the 2009 season Cavendish not only won six stages of the Tour and four at the Giro d’Italia but also won the Milan-San Remo one-day classic as the young Manxman became only the second Briton since the late Tom Simpson to win one of the five ‘monuments’ of cycling. Simpson, of course, won the world champions’ road racing rainbow jersey and Giro di Lombardia [Tour of Lombardy] classic before he became the first cyclist to claim the BBC award back in 1965.
Indeed, other than Simpson and Beryl Burton in 1967, only Sir Chris Hoy who won the title following his triumvirate of gold medals on the track at the Beijing Olympic Games, have represented cycling on the BBC ‘podium’ since the award’s inception by Sir Paul Fox, a former Telegraph Sport columnist, back in 1954. That, though, is history. The young self-proclaimed ’scally’ did, though, this season, grow up to become not only a man but also the kind of individual to overcome personal and professional issues to forge his name in the pantheon of truly great riders. The kind that the likes of Mario Cippolini respected and, indeed, adored.
During the 2009 Tour the fastest sprinter in the world, deservedly, received criticism from none other than Sean Kelly, the great Irish classics rider and Eurosport pundit. However, 12 months on the HTC-Columbia rider appeared to falter. Following a hellish pre-season that saw, the then 24 year-old, sit, vigil-like, by the bedside of his old flat-mate and fellow Manxman Jonny Bellis after the Saxo-Bank rider’s near-death scooter-crash, Cavendish’s pre-season couldn’t have got off to a worse start. Despite Bellis’s slow recovery, Cavendish’s season actually got worse.
Through over-training, despite warnings, the Manxman later suffered a mouth abscess which denied him a ride at the Tour of Qatar and a much-needed early-season spin. Once back in the saddle, during a, then, rare stage win at the Tour of Romandy, Cavendish reacted with a V-sign to his critics. His critics, of course, we’re still not quite sure. Things, it is fair to say, did not look good. Until, that is, the greatest bike race in the world, la grande boucle. With the world, apparently, against him, Cavendish threw himself into one of the toughest Tours de France for many a year. Despite his out-of-the-saddle issues and constant questioning about fitness or ability to perform, the young man, following stage one’s massive crash, turned on the style.
Not only did Cavendish, against all odds, go on to win five stages – and add to his grand tour palmarès – but also provided me with one of the best sporting moments of my life as he, once again, dropped the pack to sprint across the pavé on the Champs-Élysées to win a second successive stage in Gay Paree. After battling back from the brink of despair Cavendish, like a heavyweight boxer, landed the killer punch that makes him the sportsman of the year. Many, no doubt, will disagree. But if you do, I’d love to hear your argument. Cavendish is the greatest British sportsman the year.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please visit http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
