Finalists for the 2007 Australian Cyclist of the Year awards

Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the finalists in thie 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year Awards. The gala celebration of Australian cycling will be held on Friday November 24th at the Arts Centre in Melbourne.

A range of awards will be presented culminating in the presentation of the “Sir Hubert Opperman Medal” to the 2006 Australian Cyclist of the Year.

The complete list of finalists is available at http://www.cyling.org.au. The MTB nominations are:.

Male MTB Cyclist of the Year

Jared Graves
Jared claimed victory in the 4X at the Willingen World Cup in Germany and was second in the Brazilian round. He also placed fifth in both the Vigo (ESP) and Mont St Anne (CAN) rounds.

Sam Hill
Sam produced a thrilling run at the World Championships to claim the gold medal in the elite downhill. He was consistent throughout the year picking up two World Cup wins in Great Britain and Austria to finish second overall in the World Cup Series. He won the NORBA Series and finished the year as the number one ranked downhill rider in the world.

Chris Jongewaard
Chris won the Australian MTB XC Series and was second at the Australian Championships. At the Commonwealth Games he delighted the Aussie fans with an early attack that saw him lead for most of the race before finishing fourth across the line.

Female MTB Cyclist of the Year

Katrina Miller
Katrina’s final year of international competition saw her again challenging on the international stage. She won the 4X at the Mont St Anne World Cup (CAN) and was second in both the German and Brazilian rounds to finish the Series ranked fourth overall.

SBS Television Coach of the Year

Scott Sharples
2006 marked the culmination of five years of exceptional work by Scott. At the World Championships in New Zealand his riders claimed gold, bronze, fifth and sixth in the men’s elite downhill and gold in the junior women’s downhill. Scott has steered Australia to the position of the world’s number one ranked men’s downhill nation.

Sportscover Junior Male MTB Cyclist of the Year

Ben Bell
Ben raced with the elite field in the American NORBA series finishing second in Round 2 and fourth in the third round.

Daniel Braunsteins
Daniel is the Australian Short Track Champion and was second in the cross country at the Australian Championships and Oceania Championships. At the World Titles in New Zealand he placed sixth.

Sportscover Junior Female MTB Cyclist of the Year

Tracey Hannah
Tracey had an exceptional year in 2006. She was the series champion and won up two rounds in the elite division of the NORBA series and ended her season with a gold medal winning ride to be crowned Junior Women’s Downhill World Champion.

Best Photograph

Mikkeli Godfree - Commonwealth Games
Chris Jongewaard, was physically and emotionally shattered after the Commonwealth Games cross country event where he led until the final lap when his body could take no more.

Renee Junga and Wade Bootes are also nominated in BMX categories.