26 December 2012

Cycling News Best of 2012

A summary of reader votes

CyclingNews.com conducted a readers poll of the best in cycling from 2012. Sure you probably received tweets or facebook posts or updates on who was nominated for the best of 2012, but we all know nomination is far from winning. So who did win the BEST OF for 2012 - here is a list. Do you agree? I have to admit - I do.
 2012 
The best of cycling 2012
[read more about the runners up under each link below]

Best Team: Team SKY
Best Stage race: 2012 Tour de France
Best one-day race: 2012 Paris-Roubaix
Legend of Cycling: Oscar Freire
Best team bike: Specialized S-Works
Best Tech Invention: Disc brakes for road and cyclocross bikes
Biggest story of the year: USADA vs Lance Armstrong
Best female road biker: World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Marianne Vos of the Nederlands
Best male road biker: Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins from the UK
Best female mountain biker: Olympic gold medalist Julie Bressett from France
Best male mountain biker: World Champion Nino Schurter from Swizterland
Best cyclo-cross rider: Sven Nys of Belgium
Best track cyclist: Sir Chris Hoy

Other Best ofs:
This year I appreciated this photo taken by James Startt (of Bicycling) at the start of the Tour of Flanders in Bruges. I personally found the true meaning of being a cycling fan in Belgium this past spring. James (the Cultural Artist) compiled his other favorite photos taken at various races, while his side-kick Frankie Andreu (the Pragmatic Analyzer) adds additional comments to each photo. 2012 Pro Peloton in Pictures
Popular cycling video of 2012 - receiving 6,536,881 hits on YouTube: Martyn Ashton - Road Bike Party    

I am sure there will be more Best of lists in the coming week. For me, my best of 2012 was a hard list to create in a year full of many great experiences, but here they are:

PEDAL DANCER TOP 10 MOMENTS AS A TRAVELING CYCLE TOURIST IN 2012
  1. Being with my family in the Rabobank VIP tent at the finish of the 2012 Tour of California in Los Angeles.
  2. Being on the Kwaremont watching the 2012 Tour of Flanders.
  3. Watching Tom Boonen ride through the Arenberg forest and win the 2012 Paris-Roubaix.
  4. Having beers in Bruges Belgium with a brew master and my niece.
  5. Discovering a new special bed and breakfast in Provence with impeccable French hospitality.
  6. Having an incredible 4-course lunch with my friend Monica in Lastelle-Bétharram, France, and later riding up to the mountain top finish on Peyregudes for Stage 17 of the Tour de France.
  7. Riding up and being on Mt Baldy with my brother and friend/photographer Willie at the 2012 Tour of California.
  8. Discovering the beautiful Rhone River Valley between stages of the 2012 Tour de France.
  9. Hanging out with Team SKY and BMC in Kortrijk, Belgium, as well as other stories from Belgium.
  10. Meeting so many new fans, new friends, and seeing old friends again on travels and at races
Creating this list makes me realize there were so many travel stories I never got around to writing up in 2012, including some of these top 10 moments of 2012. I guess I was busy living it!

Happy New Year from me and my labradoodle Jack Denny! I hope 2013 is a great year for all of you.
Karen of PedalDancer.com at State Championships cyclo-cross in Colorado    
Photo by Photographer Annette Hayden
 2013 ... what adventures lie ahead ??