Hoy snaffles the prize!

So the astonishing dominance of Team GB's cycling team carried on from the Olympics to take the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards by storm. I, and many of the people I interviewed for my vox pop, thought Lewis Hamilton had the award sewn up because of the sheer number of F1 fans. How wrong we were, and how little we knew of the countrywide army of cycling enthusiasts locked in a voting frenzy yesterday. That and the obvious regard the people of Britain hold for their Olympic heroes. Not only was Chris Hoy victorious, but the Olympic cycling team snaffled two of the other gala baubles as well.

The staging of the awards in Liverpool has been decreed a triumphant success by the local papers and a return to the Echo Arena is apparently guaranteed. However, unless through some late flowering of sporting prowess I secure a ringside seat for next time, I’ll be watching from the safety of my sofa once more.

I have to confess some disappointment at the absence of any real clangers by the presenting team. They managed a slick show even if the TV visuals were so busy that I started to feel nauseous and had to look away from the screen. Although this was an upset Hoy deserved to win the award. His achievement of winning three gold medals was incredible and the highlight of an unusually successful sporting year for Britain. Judging by his acceptance speech he is also a decent, amusing guy, and shock horror, a personality!

Image by Nick J Webb @ www.flickr.com