The Welsh vote could give Thomas the edge for SPOTY
I’ve just put a bet on Geriant Thomas for the 2018 Sporting Personality of the Year. I got 3/1 on Betfair.
It used to be that cyclists tended to have an edge in the voting that takes place shortly before Christmas because they were better organised. Not so long ago Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins picked up the title the titles in successive years.
Then Chris Froome came on the scene and he struggled when it came to the voting.
Now we have another British winner of the Tour de France in Thomas but my guess he will be a very different proposition when it comes SPOTY. The reason is the Welsh vote.
The outpouring of Welsh National pride in relation to Thomas over the past 24 hours has been extraordinary. He is also a much more engaging personality on TV and gets favourable coverage.
The current favourite in the betting is England’s World Cup captain, Harry Kane who surely would have been a near certainty if England had beaten Croatia. But that didn’t happen and England went on to lose the third place play off.