Okay, if a sporting award puts popularity ahead of achievement you could say it’s a bit shallow. So why should we care about the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year every December? Probably because when your favourite past-time is an underdog sport like cycling, often marginalized by the mass media as traffic light running Lycra louts, popularity actually counts for quite a lot.
Chris, or rather, Sir Chris Hoy beat Formula 1’s Lewis Hamilton into second place last year with almost double the votes on the night, and further propelled cycling into the public consciousness in front of 9.8 million TV viewers, with British Cycling also winning the Team popularity gong for their medal haul in China.
So with the likes of Formula 1’s World Champion-in-waiting Jenson Button and tennis’ Andy Murray to beat, how do we win it again this year? Simple - vote for Grand Tour super-sprinter Mark Cavendish or track legend turned Tour de France contender Bradley Wiggins.
But which? What if both make the final live telephone vote and you don’t fancy voting, and paying, twice? We – rather you - need to decide.
So which is it to be? Cav or Wiggo? The choice is yours…
