The British Cycling technical director, Shane Sutton, has expressed his disappointment that Joanna Rowsell, who currently has a full house of Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth Games pursuit titles, has been left off the shortlist for the BBC sports personality of the year.
The 25-year-old from Surrey has been a mainstay of the Great Britain team pursuit squad since 2008, and helped the trio to a gold medal in the London Olympic Games and further golds at the world and European championships this year. She has also branched out into the individual side of the discipline, landing the world title in Colombia back in February and the Commonwealth gold in Glasgow this July.
“To me Jo has been the best sportswoman in Britain this year,” said Sutton, who took over from Sir Dave Brailsford at the head of the British cycling squad earlier this year. “There is no question. It’s out of our control but as far as her performances are concerned, I don’t think any other sportswoman has matched what she has achieved.”
Together with Laura Trott, Rowsell has been at the heart of the Great Britain women’s team pursuit squad’s international dominance in recent years. The squad are unbeaten at world championship level since 2011, and currently hold the world records at the current distance of 4,000m with four riders, and the 2012 Olympic distance of 3,000m with three riders.
“She has been a leading light for us,” added Sutton, who recently named Rowsell in the British women’s endurance team for next weekend’s World Cup at the “Pringle” in London’s Olympic park. “The thing about Jo is, she has her goals in place and no one hits goals like she can hit them. She pulled out of Mexico, the last World Cup, in order to prepare for London and she did a big block on her own.”
Speaking at the cycling team’s base in Manchester on Thursday – where several members of the team appear to be suffering with flu which it is hoped will not affect their form for London – Sutton concluded, “She picks the ball up and runs with it herself. It’s something that a lot of the other athletes here need to look at; how Jo prepares herself, how she achieves things in the long term through sheer dedication to her goal. She does what it takes and gets the job done.”
