Split vote can help Cavendish romp to Sports Personality victory
Published:Mark Cavendish has been amongst the best sportsmen in Britain for a number of years now but he is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves – and that trend should continue with him claiming the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award this Thursday.
His green jersey win at the Tour de France combined with his Road World Championships victory means the Manx man is a tiny 4/11 to walk away with the title.
However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest he may even be worth backing at this price – the last time a British rider won the rainbow jersey was back in 1965 when Tom Simpson claimed the stripes.
Simpson also went on to win the Sports Personality of the Year award and a famous double also looks to be on the cards for Cavendish.
Cavendish’s incredible year isn’t the only thing that is in his favour though.
The fact that three big rivals – Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke – are all golfers will surely see the golf vote split between those who will go for McIlroy and Clarke’s major triumphs versus those who’ll go for the consistency of World No.1 Donald.
It could open the door for 10/1 third favourite, 5,000m World Champion Mo Farah, to come in and push Cavendish all the way.
If you can see one of the golfers upsetting the odds though, then Clarke is the shortest golfer at 5/1, McIlroy is 14/1, while Donald is out at 16/1 to be the first golfer to win the award since Nick Faldo in 1989.
