Could a Brit cyclist make it two years running for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year? Always a tough call in an Olympic year, but with Mark Cavendish having taken the award in 2011 this year’s short list includes three cyclists: Sir Chris Hoy, Sarah Storey and, bookmaker’s favourite, Bradley Wiggins. Just choosing between the three would be hard enough; Hoy (the winner in 2008) has an almost unbelievably illustrious career to recommend him, Storey has 11 Paralympic Golds – matching Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s record – and Wiggins became the first Brit ever to win the Tour de France and picked up his fourth Olympic Gold this year to boot.
Their competition comes in the form of: Nicola Adams, Ben Ainslie, Katherine Grainger, Rory McIlroy?, Andy Murray, Ellie Simmonds?, ?David Weir?, Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah. The latter two most likely to give Wiggins a run for his money on the night. The BBC SPOTY (as it is colloquially known) will be decided by vote during a live ceremony from London’s ExCeL Centre on Sunday, December 16. Further details at bbc.co.uk
