..IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR..

....And it was a very good year for the Manx Rocket Mark Cavendish , who finally got the public recognition he deserved and was duly voted BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.

Long appreciated on the continent for his singular talents - small boys in Belgium crave a Cavendish HTC shirt far more than a N0 9 Rooney or whoever , and he certainly never has to pay for a meal there- he is the finest pro-- sprinter this country has ever produced and is well on his way to racking up even more stage wins in the Tour De France than the great Eddie Merxx . The first to acknowledge that road racing is very much a team effort , Cavendish is now with the UK Sky team - Bradley Wiggins and all - so next year promises to be more than interesting.

20 stages Wins in the Tour de France, The first Uk winner ever of the Green Jersey and only the second Uk road race champion , after the late Tom Simpson.......and an MBE . For once the Real Deal , and a worthy Sports Personality Of The Year.