Great result. SPOTY definitely went to the right guy this year, although that's not to belittle the achievements of Farah, McIlroy, Green et al (also not forgetting Keri Anne Payne, Adlington, Chrissie Wellington, Al Brownlee and all of the other fantastic achievements that went largely unrecognised). Great that Lucy Garner also got into the top 3 of the Young SPOTY.
Rare that SPOTY goes not only to the most deserving person, but also to someone who actually has a personality, so doubly good this year
Agree about the speech. No media coached soundbites and typically modest. He can be an arrogant chavvy gobshite at times, but at heart he's actually a pretty modest guy, always thankful to win and always very appreciative of the fact that it's a team effort. He never ever forgets to give the credit to his teammates.
The only real surprise is that Joe Public have actually recognised how good he is. Cycling's a complex sport, and very much a minority sport in the UK. The thing that swung it I think was the Worlds, which is a concept that people here can understand, unlike (on the whole) the subtleties of stage racing or the tradition and general all round bad ass toughness of the Classics. In the cycling heartlands of Europe he's a major celebrity, but probably until this year he's not really had much recognition here.
Quite like the joke going around that Bernie Eisel and Renshaw should have picked up the award and then passed it to Cav on a plate though
