S.P.O.T.Y.

[400bhp]

Why do they bother with a phone vote with only around 340k votes cast and revenue generation of around £50k?

 

[totallyfixed]

First time I have ever deliberately not watched it. I guess I should be happy a cyclist has won but IMO the wrong people were nominated, the whole thing is a total farce, far more deserving athletes should have made up the list including women.

 

[Paul_L]

made up for Cav.

Thought his interview was a nice touch. Not very slick and polished but very sincere and humble and hopefully this will change the view of those who think he's arrogant.

But hang on a minute, more people voted for Andy Murray than an Ashes winning captain, a major golf winner and a world champion athlete. Morons!

 

[Keith Oates]

Looking at the figures above it seems that the cycling fraternity were out in strength to support him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[yello]

Good on Cavendish. He's a lad, speaks from his heart, not your typical 'early doors' nonsense

But shame on the BBC...

Cavendish won five stages of this year's Tour de France - including the final time trial in Paris - to clinch the green jersey awarded to the race's best sprinter for the first time.

 

[400bhp]

First time I have ever deliberately not watched it. I guess I should be happy a cyclist has won but IMO the wrong people were nominated, the whole thing is a total farce, far more deserving athletes should have made up the list including women.

I see your point, but let's not get carried away with what the program is (or should be). A look back on a year of sport.

It shouldn't be taken seriously.

 

[resal]

I see your point, but let's not get carried away with what the program is (or should be). A look back on a year of sport.

It shouldn't be taken seriously.

Exactly. A great night that a road cyclist gets the award. The voting numbers are very low. As somebody wrote on the cycling news site, 30,000 cycling fans voted 3 times each ? Cav is exactly the sort of winner the show wants and deserves. That his girlfiend could feature in the other part of Nuts or Zoo makes it a nice closed circle.

It says one hell of a lot about the UK right now. Zara won it because she was Royal. (Yes she was World Champion but in a sport that has just how many competitors with full access to the event ? - Compare and contrast with World Champions in other sports who barely get/have got a mention.) Ryan Giggs got it because a footballer had not received it for years and MU had won a load of stuff. Personality - role model - he can't even be bothered to turn out for Wales - "Is it a hamstring niggle this time Ryan or possible ankle strain from training ? Oh well see you next qualifying match (or maybe not). Give my fondest regards to Sir Alex and pass the list back to him." Tony McCoy ! I'm not commenting.

If we are honest about it as cyclists, Cav got it because every newspaper in the country has "discovered" the Tour. ie a journalist has had one hell of a good 3 weeks in France on expenses and needs to write copy to justify the jolly. Whose the Brit to write about - Cav. He won 5 stages and well done him for doing so. However, as a poster on here exhibited, the way it has been portrayed - Cav won the race ! Misconceptions - frankly in 2008 Joe public thought Chris Hoy was the greatest cyclist ever and if asked, Joe public would probably have said he rode the Tour along with Chris Boardman. Tell them that there were only about half a dozen indoor stadiums in the World, the UK had 2 of them and that First World countries like Canada had pulled their single stadium down or that France could not be ar**d to heat theirs through the winter of 07/08 and compromised the preparation of their team, and you would receive a blank look of utter dumbfoundedness. The 3 Golds were portrayed much like Cav's winning of the Tour, with scant regard to the record books. 3 near identical events in the same competition period - the strongest guy can win all 3. Undoubtedly Victoria would have, if she had been given the events as Sir Chris was. Sir Chris is enshrined in history. If Vicky does not win this summer, she will be forgotten as a one hit wonder. If she wins multiple gold medals she can possibly match Sir Chris. The opportunity has been created for her.

Back to Spoty - what we have here is a coming together of the ignorance about sport of Joe public who is used to pigging out on a diet of football pap and the effect of Sky entering the sport. With the Sky team and Le Tour plastered everywhere, the other Journos decided this was a bus they must not miss. As it turned out, it was a hell of a jolly - food wine, a tidy finish time, allowing an easy meeting of print deadlines, and tickets for next year's bus were going fast so let's get as much copy as possible out of that lovely holiday as we can, to ensure we get to go an cover it next year.

Cav suited the sports-writers to a tee. Again, as other posters have recorded elsewhere, every paper in the country has had an article every month saying how Cav is the ignored superstar of his generation.
Brad can trump Cav and Sir Chris this year by winning the event, just like Vicky can match Sir Chris. For those coming along later like Geraint or Luke, there are outstanding opportunities.

But if your name is Emma Pooley and you flogged your way up the Stelvio in a titanic struggle for supremacy with one other rider battling for the Giro win, whilst Cav tootled along in the autobus not giving a fig that they were all going to finish outside the time limit - "Kick 80 riders off the Tour including the green jersey - you are having a laugh - w'll be on the start line tomorrow", if your name is Emma Pooley or the other road girls, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do.

As the BBC have edited his speech so eloquently (and often reported) - Cav " the first GB winner of the World Road Race title in nearly half a decade century".

Lizzie - maybe ask Cav's girlfriend for tips on how to make a million - I can't see the BBC making Marianne overseas Sports Personality of the Year just yet a while.

An aside. Abdou was obviously hated by Le Tour organisers. I have stood at the mountainside and watched the autobus cruise past. I looked out for Abdou on the 4 mountain stages I watched in a Tour he won the green jersy. He was generally at the front of a small group dragging them along, ahead of the autobus. (in fact there barely seemed to be an autobus that year.) Generally he looked to be going significantly harder than Indurain, Rominger, Delgardo or Miller. He had the hunted look of a rider - "if I finish 1 second outside the time zone I am toast - it doesn't matter how many riders finish behind me." He was the most inspirational rider I observed in the Tour that year. I have never seen any other green jersey rider trying so hard.

 

[lukesdad]

Ever ridden a horse properly resal ? You havnt got a clue what it takes have you ?

3 day eventing and national hunt racing makes cycling look what it is !

 

[claver58]

Frankly I am amazed at some of the comments here. Cav is one of the best cyclists in the world and gives his all yet receives some criticism even from cycling enthusiasts.
I still say he is great and I'm proud that he's British!!
(3 yrs time and he'll beat Eddie Merckx's record for TdF stage wins.)

 

[rich p]

Frankly I am amazed at some of the comments here. Cav is one of the best cyclists in the world and gives his all yet receives some criticism even from cycling enthusiasts.
I still say he is great and I'm proud that he's British!!
(3 yrs time and he'll beat Eddie Merckx's record for TdF stage wins.)

I think you need to re-read the thread mate

 

[lukesdad]

I think you need to re-read the thread mate

+1 to that !

 

[resal]

Ever ridden a horse properly resal ? You havnt got a clue what it takes have you ?

3 day eventing and national hunt racing makes cycling look what it is !

I think I deserved that, I should not have left it hanging, in the context with the others but you have not read what I said. "No comment" was precisely that. I did not want to sidetrack the debate. I am not a regular horse rider but have fallen off them enough times to know how that hurts - a lot. The whole thing gets distorted from outright athletic performance, the jockey with the reputation gets the best horses to ride. It generates similar arguments in Formula 1 - the greatest driver is ....- well for starters you need...... Whether one then places "achievement" on the shoulders of the single individual in the seat becomes a moot point. I have a position in respect to that which probably differs from your own.

Tony McCoy has a terrific long record of achievement, but how long is the queue of owners wanting him in the saddle on their horse ? For the next step I certainly don't know enough about horse racing to comment. Is his talent that of selecting the best rides or does he regularly get a load more out of a horse than his peers can or is his magic the fact that he is brilliant at both? Compare and contrast - Zara found the year later that without the right four legged friend, her talent counted for nothing, which then opens up the debate about availability of resource to develop and train the horse. As to whether we can untangle that one, well if our press cannot work out the difference between winning the green jersey and winning the whole race, we have no chance of sorting that little lot out.

But as a fundamental - the individual who succeeds without a system or against a system has one hell of a lot more to deal with than the individual at the sharp end of a long chain. There are plenty of others watching to keep the individual up to the mark and preparing as they should prepare.

Reflecting - I think that what stuck out was that Tony McCoy was not on the list for how long ? Had he ever been on the list before ? And then suddenly appeared and won it and then next year off the list again. Why is that. Was he a rubbish jockey the year before and the year after ? Since that was obviously not the case, what the hell is going on with the selection, and then that gets us back to exactly the right point. The thing is a bit of froth to while away the winter. Great that Cav has won - puts road cycling in front of a lot more people.

 

[NotFabian]

The first time i 'properly' watched the programme, really chuffed he won.
One thing though if I'd have known it was gonna be a cake-walk I'd have saved the 15pence (other networks vary) I spent voting for him. lol

 

[Globalti]

What I like about those figures is not who WON by a huge margin but who came LAST with an embarrassingly small vote. Amir Khan is IMO a nasty piece of work who has a history of serious motoring offences for which his good lawyers have saved him from appropriate punishment, including one which eventually killed the victim.

 

[oldroadman]

Exactly. A great night that a road cyclist gets the award. The voting numbers are very low. As somebody wrote on the cycling news site, 30,000 cycling fans voted 3 times each ? Cav is exactly the sort of winner the show wants and deserves. That his girlfiend could feature in the other part of Nuts or Zoo makes it a nice closed circle.

It says one hell of a lot about the UK right now. Zara won it because she was Royal. (Yes she was World Champion but in a sport that has just how many competitors with full access to the event ? - Compare and contrast with World Champions in other sports who barely get/have got a mention.) Ryan Giggs got it because a footballer had not received it for years and MU had won a load of stuff. Personality - role model - he can't even be bothered to turn out for Wales - "Is it a hamstring niggle this time Ryan or possible ankle strain from training ? Oh well see you next qualifying match (or maybe not). Give my fondest regards to Sir Alex and pass the list back to him." Tony McCoy ! I'm not commenting.

If we are honest about it as cyclists, Cav got it because every newspaper in the country has "discovered" the Tour. ie a journalist has had one hell of a good 3 weeks in France on expenses and needs to write copy to justify the jolly. Whose the Brit to write about - Cav. He won 5 stages and well done him for doing so. However, as a poster on here exhibited, the way it has been portrayed - Cav won the race ! Misconceptions - frankly in 2008 Joe public thought Chris Hoy was the greatest cyclist ever and if asked, Joe public would probably have said he rode the Tour along with Chris Boardman. Tell them that there were only about half a dozen indoor stadiums in the World, the UK had 2 of them and that First World countries like Canada had pulled their single stadium down or that France could not be ar**d to heat theirs through the winter of 07/08 and compromised the preparation of their team, and you would receive a blank look of utter dumbfoundedness. The 3 Golds were portrayed much like Cav's winning of the Tour, with scant regard to the record books. 3 near identical events in the same competition period - the strongest guy can win all 3. Undoubtedly Victoria would have, if she had been given the events as Sir Chris was. Sir Chris is enshrined in history. If Vicky does not win this summer, she will be forgotten as a one hit wonder. If she wins multiple gold medals she can possibly match Sir Chris. The opportunity has been created for her.

Back to Spoty - what we have here is a coming together of the ignorance about sport of Joe public who is used to pigging out on a diet of football pap and the effect of Sky entering the sport. With the Sky team and Le Tour plastered everywhere, the other Journos decided this was a bus they must not miss. As it turned out, it was a hell of a jolly - food wine, a tidy finish time, allowing an easy meeting of print deadlines, and tickets for next year's bus were going fast so let's get as much copy as possible out of that lovely holiday as we can, to ensure we get to go an cover it next year.

Cav suited the sports-writers to a tee. Again, as other posters have recorded elsewhere, every paper in the country has had an article every month saying how Cav is the ignored superstar of his generation.
Brad can trump Cav and Sir Chris this year by winning the event, just like Vicky can match Sir Chris. For those coming along later like Geraint or Luke, there are outstanding opportunities.

But if your name is Emma Pooley and you flogged your way up the Stelvio in a titanic struggle for supremacy with one other rider battling for the Giro win, whilst Cav tootled along in the autobus not giving a fig that they were all going to finish outside the time limit - "Kick 80 riders off the Tour including the green jersey - you are having a laugh - w'll be on the start line tomorrow", if your name is Emma Pooley or the other road girls, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do.

As the BBC have edited his speech so eloquently (and often reported) - Cav " the first GB winner of the World Road Race title in nearly half a decade century".

Lizzie - maybe ask Cav's girlfriend for tips on how to make a million - I can't see the BBC making Marianne overseas Sports Personality of the Year just yet a while.

An aside. Abdou was obviously hated by Le Tour organisers. I have stood at the mountainside and watched the autobus cruise past. I looked out for Abdou on the 4 mountain stages I watched in a Tour he won the green jersy. He was generally at the front of a small group dragging them along, ahead of the autobus. (in fact there barely seemed to be an autobus that year.) Generally he looked to be going significantly harder than Indurain, Rominger, Delgardo or Miller. He had the hunted look of a rider - "if I finish 1 second outside the time zone I am toast - it doesn't matter how many riders finish behind me." He was the most inspirational rider I observed in the Tour that year. I have never seen any other green jersey rider trying so hard.