Tom Pidcock has been voted as your Great Britain Cycling Team Rider of the Year 2017 after a sensational 12 months saw the youngster win multiple honours including two world titles.
Voting closed at 11.59pm on Sunday 7 January with the winner announced on Monday 8 January.
The nominees
Katie Archibald
The Scottish rider enjoyed an outstanding year in 2017, which saw her pick up her first individual world title, as well as a series of European and national titles and confirm her place as one of the best all-round cyclists in the world.
Archibald’s successful year began in January, with a hat-trick of titles at the HSBC UK | National Track Championships. She added an omnium crown to this tally and also won at the HSBC UK | National Circuit Championships to take her fifth national title of the year.
However it was the track where Archibald has continued to excel as she took on the new-look omnium at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong and dominated the event to win the first individual world title of her career. She would later add European championship victories in the pursuit and the omnium to take her tally of European titles to an astonishing ten.
James Ball (piloted by Matt Rotherham)
After experiencing his first Paralympic Games in 2016 alongside pilot Craig Maclean, James Ball was paired with new pilot Matt Rotherham for the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships and they enjoyed a stunning start to their partnership.
The pair won two world titles, setting one of the fastest times in history to win the kilo, before beating team-mates Neil Fachie and Craig Maclean to the tandem sprint crown.
Elinor Barker
The last 12 months have been ones of new challenges for Barker, following her team pursuit success at the Olympics.
Barker travelled to the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong with individual glory in mind and her championships got off to an agonising start, just missing out on the gold in a sprint to the line in the scratch race. Barker followed this up with a second silver medal alongside Emily Nelson in the Madison, before finally winning the gold she craved in the points race with a stunning late burst to pip America’s Sarah Hammer.
Lauren Bate
With Becky James and Shanaze Reade both announcing their retirement in 2017, there was a real opportunity for a rider to step up and make an impact in the women’s track cycling sprint events.
Lauren Bate was one of those to do so - highlighting her promise by winning a silver medal in the individual sprint and a bronze medal in the team sprint alongside Georgia Hilleard at the UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Italy.
Jon Gildea
After the disappointment of missing out on selection for the Paralympics in Rio, Gildea bounced back in some style in 2017 winning two world titles at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles.
Competing in three events, Gildea returned home with rainbow jerseys in the individual pursuit and the scratch race, as well as picking up a silver medal in the kilo.
Annie Last
After a year that started with an epic second place finish in the gruelling Absa Cape Epic, Annie Last enjoyed a history-making season on the world mountain biking scene.
Last would go on to win her first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Switzerland in July, becoming the first British women to do so since 1997. However the crowning glory would be winning the silver medal in the cross-country at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Australia, becoming the first British female medallist in the elite cross-country event.
Tom Pidcock
The 12 months after an Olympics is always a time for new talent to shine and Tom Pidcock has emerged as one of the brightest prospects, not only in Britain but across the world.
Pidcock’s incredible year began in January at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Luxembourg, leading home a British one-two-three, with team-mates Dan Tulett and Ben Turner joining him on the podium.
He would also claim a second set of rainbow stripes at the UCI Road World Championships in Norway, winning the men’s junior time-trial in impressive fashion.
Victory in the Paris-Roubaix junior race, two wins at under-23 cyclo-cross world cup races, as well as a junior national title on the track and a senior title at the HSBC UK | National Circuit Championships prove that Pidcock is a force to be reckoned with across the cycling disciplines.
Beth Shriever
Beth Shriever’s world title in Rock Hill, USA was the crowning glory in a year which saw a resurgence for British women on the international BMX stage.
Coming just weeks after team-mate Blaine Ridge-Davis had become European champion, Shriever’s impressive win in the junior women’s race at the UCI BMX World Championships was secured with a dramatic late burst to the line to pip Australian Saya Sakakibara for the win and her first world title.
Sophie Thornhill (piloted by Corrine Hall)
Still only 21 years of age, Sophie Thornhill continued her relentless pursuit of world titles in 2017, adding a hat-trick of crowns to her growing collection at the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in March.
Riding with pilot, Corrine Hall, the pairing cleaned up in the tandem events, winning gold in the kilo, pursuit and sprint events.
Matt Walker
British riders continued their recent run of success in downhill events with the next generation of riders shining at this year’s world championships in Australia.
The highlight was Matt Walker’s outstanding victory in the junior men’s downhill event, completing a technical course in a brilliant time of 3.37.796 to pip team-mate Joe Breeden and complete a fantastic British double.
