Whenever a British cyclist wins a major event, fans and commentators immediately start talking about their chances in the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards. Chris Froome may not have won today's stage of the Tour de France, but the chaotic scenes on Mont Ventoux that saw the yellow jersey running up the climb in the final kilometre have seen his odds for the SPOTY title cut by bookmaker William Hill.
Within an hour of the stage finish in which Froome lost time, only to be given it back by the race jury who gave him the same finish time as Trek's Bauke Mollema, his odds were cut from 20-1 to 16-1.
William Hill spokesman Jon Ivan-Duke said: “It could go down as one of the most iconic moments in Tour de France history. We think Froome’s sheer determination in the face of adversity will have won him many fans and he is still overwhelming favourite to win the yellow jersey.”
Froome has been nominated for the award before, but has never gained many votes from BBC watching general public who generally don't follow cycling.
The annual live TV event takes place every December and brings together the 'best' bits of British sport from the previous 12 months. The montage heavy show will have a shortlist of at least 12 athletes from different sports but generally leaves sports fans disappointed that their preferred sport/sportsperson wasn't given the credit they deserve.
Cyclists have however done well in SPOTY recently. Chris Hoy won in 2008, Mark Cavendish in 2011 and Bradley Wiggins in 2012
Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. In that time he has written product reviews, features and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. Once an aspiring bike racer himself, he can still be seen at his club's evening races through the summer.
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