2018 RTE Sports Person of the Year

carltonleon · 30-11-2018 11:05am #1

So they released a really long list for this award and Dan Martin is the only cyclist on the list.

DAN MARTIN
Cyclist Dan Martin won stage six of the Tour de France to Mur de Bretagne and finished 8th in the overall rankings. He was also named the most combative rider of the Tour, the first ever Irish winner of the award, which has been in existence since 1953.

Yes I am sure that you will all agree that it was a great achievement from Dan and if he had a better team with more climbers around him, who knows how high he could have finished.

My question is this, surely Sam Bennett after winning 3 stages of the Giro deserved to be on the list. Not to mention his stages in the Tour of Turkey. But come on, 3 stages of the Giro, that is a fantastic achievement and surely qualifies you to at least be on the list.
If you say that there are 21 stages approx. on a grand tour and 3 grand tours then that is 63 stages and Sam won 4.7% of them

Weepsie · 30-11-2018 11:42am

Ahem,

Katie-george dunlevy & eve mccrystal are on the list.

Can't imagine it will be anyone but Johnny Sexton though.

carltonleon · 30-11-2018 12:17pm

Apologies, they are indeed. I only skimmed through the list. My point still stands though, surely Sam at least deserves to be on the list.

Agree that it will defo be Johnny Sexton as winner alright

neris · 30-11-2018 4:38pm

did roche win it back in 87? (if it was around then) Chances of a minority sports person winning are slim same as the bbc version

tuxy · 30-11-2018 4:41pm

Dan has a better chance as it was in the tour. Unfortunately the Giro would probably be overlooked by most judges. The winner needs to have taken part in something the general public knows about.

dastardly00 · 30-11-2018 4:43pm

carltonleon wrote: »

So they released a really long list for this award and Dan Martin is the only cyclist on the list.

DAN MARTIN
Cyclist Dan Martin won stage six of the Tour de France to Mur de Bretagne and finished 8th in the overall rankings. He was also named the most combative rider of the Tour, the first ever Irish winner of the award, which has been in existence since 1953.

Yes I am sure that you will all agree that it was a great achievement from Dan and if he had a better team with more climbers around him, who knows how high he could have finished.

My question is this, surely Sam Bennett after winning 3 stages of the Giro deserved to be on the list. Not to mention his stages in the Tour of Turkey. But come on, 3 stages of the Giro, that is a fantastic achievement and surely qualifies you to at least be on the list.
If you say that there are 21 stages approx. on a grand tour and 3 grand tours then that is 63 stages and Sam won 4.7% of them

Not all Grand Tour stages are equal though. In today's peloton I would say that winning one bunch sprint in the TdF is probably equivalent to maybe four or five sprint wins in the Giro/Vuelta.

And the Tour of Turkey really doesn't count compared to most other WT races.

tuxy · 30-11-2018 4:46pm

Many people who love watching sport but have little interest in cycling will still watch the tour but won't watch any other cycling event.

Fighting Tao · 30-11-2018 7:25pm

Not a follower of competitive cycling. Pat Hoban (Dundalk FC) for me!!

C’mon the town!

Eamonnator · 30-11-2018 7:45pm

neris wrote: »

did roche win it back in 87? (if it was around then) Chances of a minority sports person winning are slim same as the bbc version

He got to shake Charlie's hand. What more would you want?

magicbastarder · 02-12-2018 4:06pm

www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/irish-cyclists-rte-sports-awards

eeeee · 02-12-2018 6:15pm

'Golden Girls' :rolleyes:

Eve and Katy George for me. They're world and Olympic champions. None of the other cyclists on the list have come close to their success and dominance in the sport. Plus the women have done it in a largely ignored end of the sport, against competitors who are massively funded and supported by comparison (in fairness they are funded and supported from here, but compare with Team GB para athletes, USA etc. ). Also women's cycling in general is chronically under appreciated and supported in general, makes their achievements all the more impressive.

Weepsie · 02-12-2018 6:57pm

nee wrote: »

'. None of the other cyclists on the list have come close to their success and dominance in the sport.

I first read this as nominees, but realised you said cyclists.

In terms of Nominees, Jason Smyth is arguably the most dominant of all. Multiple world and Olympic champion too.

He's our second fastest 100 m runner and top 10 in 200 m all while being legally blind.

Captain Havoc · 03-12-2018 1:17am

Rugby is in fashion at the moment, so Johnny Sexton will probably get it.

monkeybutter · 03-12-2018 11:26am

tis in fashion in small part because of Sexton

Success is what it's all about and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone to top him this year

In almost any sport, not mind just Ireland.

CramCycle · 03-12-2018 2:41pm

Read through the list, a decent mix of sports. The fact that cycling got two is great for cycling. Plenty of bigger sports nationally only got the same so not much to complain about.

As for the complaints about Sammy not being there, the panel makers, as said before are looking at popularity, as well as achievement. So long as he continues on this amazing run of form, he will be there next year without a doubt.

LollipopJimmy · 03-12-2018 3:45pm

No Conor McGregor this year, I thought the dolly throwing might have just got him in.

troyzer · 03-12-2018 3:53pm

Sexton is a shoe in. It's mad that there's only one rugby player on the list in what is not only the greatest Irish rugby season of all time but is arguably one of the greatest seasons for any rugby team full stop.

An Irish team has won every single competition entered in 2018. And yet they have one nominee?

Madness.

Weepsie · 04-12-2018 12:46pm

as an FYI, Bennet made the Irish Independent's long list. Eve and Katie-George nor Jason Smyth were considered. I guess they don't consider para-athletics sport:rolleyes:

Anyway, if I were giving it to one of the Rugby players, it would probably be Tadgh Furlong who is somehow not nominated. Consistently brilliant.

Beasty · 04-12-2018 3:12pm

Only 3 Rugby players have ever won it. Only 3 football players also. 4 Boxers, 2 from GAA and only one athlete (although she did manage to win it 5 times). All those sports (in a sporting rather than recreational sense) have a higher profile than cycling.

It may have been a long time since a cyclist won, but the sport does have 2 successes over the years.

Would have thought the fact McGregor has only fought once and lost that probably counted against him.....

CramCycle · 04-12-2018 3:24pm

Beasty wrote: »

Would have thought the fact McGregor has only fought once and lost that probably counted against him.....

He also is a PR liability. He could have won 10 fights, his behaviour outside the ring would have meant no panel in RTE would ever pick him.

LollipopJimmy · 04-12-2018 8:08pm

CramCycle wrote: »

He also is a PR liability. He could have won 10 fights, his behaviour outside the ring would have meant no panel in RTE would ever pick him.

I was only messing earlier but didn't he win it in was 2016?

Weepsie · 04-12-2018 8:14pm

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I was only messing earlier but didn't he win it in was 2016?

He did. His image among non MMA, or more to the point non McGregor fans has gone way down after the Mayweather nonsense*

*Not because of the fight, just his general arsiness

LollipopJimmy · 04-12-2018 8:54pm

Weepsie wrote: »

He did. His image among non MMA, or more to the point non McGregor fans has gone way down after the Mayweather nonsense*

*Not because of the fight, just his general arsiness

The Mayweather stuff was a drop in the ocean compared to the Nurmagamedov crap and not to mention the stuff in the point with Charlie Ward. Anyway, safe to say his name will never be near it again

velo.2010 · 04-12-2018 10:10pm

Interesting to see the BBC have done away with announcing nominees weeks in advance.

I guess it to stop organised campaigns to get relatively unconsidered sports stars into the top three on the night. Last year, Jonathon Rea was less than 3000 votes behind Mo Farah and beat the likes of Joshua, Froome, Hamilton and Kane.

As for the RTE nominees. I think the Ireland rugby team and Joe Schmidt will win the team and manager awards respectively, so effectively everyone on the team will be recognised. That's why only Sexton is nominated for the main award.

troyzer · 04-12-2018 10:39pm

velo.2010 wrote: »

Interesting to see the BBC have done away with announcing nominees weeks in advance.

I guess it to stop organised campaigns to get relatively unconsidered sports stars into the top three on the night. Last year, Jonathon Rea was less than 3000 votes behind Mo Farah and beat the likes of Joshua, Froome, Hamilton and Kane.

As for the RTE nominees. I think the Ireland rugby team and Joe Schmidt will win the team and manager awards respectively, so effectively everyone on the team will be recognised. That's why only Sexton is nominated for the main award.

I think they got burned badly on Tyson Fury.

2018 RTE Sports Person of the Year

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