Cavendish nominated for BBC award

Mark Cavendish has been short listed for this year’s BBC Sports Personality Of The Year award. Last year, Sir Chris Hoy won the prestigious award for his cycling achievements, so it would be great for the sport if two cyclists won it in consecutive years.

Mark Cavendish was simply the fastest man on two wheels in 2009. The 24-year-old Manxman won a history-making six stages in the Tour de France and his final victory in Paris was extra special as he became the first Briton to win on the Champs-Elysees. During the Tour, the Team Columbia rider wore the prestigious Green Jersey and in the early stages of the Giro d'Italia he wore the leader's Maglia Rosa jersey. Cavendish won many stages in many races throughout the season - with another highlight being his victory in the Milan-San Remo Classic earlier in the year. Isle of Man's finest has been successful in track cycling, too. The speedster won gold in the Madison with partner Rob Hayles at the World Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles in 2005. And the following year he sprinted to gold in the scratch race at the Commonwealth Games while competing for his island. In 2008, Cavendish picked up his second Madison world title, this time with Olympic gold-medal winning Bradley Wiggins in Manchester.

Ten sportsmen and women from across the United Kingdom and from nine very different sports, make up the shortlist for BBC Sports Personality Of The Year 2009, BBC One, Sunday 13 December, 7.00-9.00pm. The live event will be held at the Sheffield Arena for the first time and is a sell-out with around 11,000 people attending, making it the biggest Sports Personality ever. The shortlist (in alphabetical order) is:

Jenson Button
Mark Cavendish
Tom Daley
Jessica Ennis
Ryan Giggs
David Haye
Phillips Idowu
Andy Murray
Andrew Strauss
Beth Tweddle

These 10 sporting celebrities will now compete for the public vote on the night of the live show. The public will be able to vote for their BBC Sports Personality Of The Year by telephone; details of the numbers to vote on will be given out during the programme. The live show will be presented by Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey.

For more information regarding the 2009 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, please click the logo below.