Personality of the year (From Barry And District News)

Personality of the year

A VALE cyclist has been voted BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.

Twenty-year Nicole Cooke, who won with 30.7 percent of the vote, became the first cyclist to win the title and also the youngest ever winner.

The Welsh ace from Wick, who bases herself near Treviso in Italy during the season, is also the first woman to win the title since Tanni Grey-Thompson in 2000.

The cyclist had quite some year coming third in the World Championships and also winning the women's Road Race World Cup, becoming the first Briton to do so.

Cooke, who also trains in Newport's recently opened velodrome, was understandably shocked to win the award.

She said: "I'm still shaking and it's unbelievable to win this award. With cycling not being a mainstream sport, I didn't expect to get that many votes.

"But as the night wore on, I was getting more and more votes and it started to become a real possibility."

Cooke also wants the victory to make her a role model in the sport for children across Wales.

She added: "It's great for the sport and, when I was younger, I didn't really have any role models to look up to. But hopefully kids interested in cycling will have someone to look up to and I can become a role model for them.

"But it's not only a great boost for the sport but is also a great opportunity for myself and I intend to grab it with both hands."