Readers of the German magazine impressed by Greipel’s win tally and Becker’s National Championship
Andre Greipel and Charlotte Becker were voted the German men’s and women’s cyclists of the year respectively. The riders were selected by the readership of the popular German cycling magazine, Radsport (Cycling).
Greipel, who won 21 times in 2010 in his final season with Bob Stapleton’s HTC-Columbia team, will move on to Belgian outfit, Omega Pharma-Lotto for 2011. Greipel netted 39.1% of the votes, putting him firmly ahead of U23 World Time Trial Championship runner-up to Taylor Phinney, John Degenkolb, who raked in almost a quarter of the votes with 24.1%. Degenkolb enjoyed a sensational season from start to finish, which was capped off by his narrow defeat at the World Championships and a contract with HTC-High Road.
In third place, with 16.7% of the votes, was 2009 Radsport’s male cyclist of the year, Tony Martin. The HTC-High Road rider was not able to rival his 2009 campaign this season, but the massively talented rider looks set to return to his previous heights next year.
On the women’s side, Cervelo Test Team’s Charlotte Becker edged out World Time Trial Championship runner-up, Judith Arndt, 29.1% to 26.9%. Like the men’s side, the 2009 winner finished up in third this go around: for the women, it was evergreen sprinter, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg who took the top honors last year and rounded out the podium in 2010.
The voting was relatively unsurprising on the men’s side, but the women’s end was eyebrow raising to say the least. Second placed, Judith Arndth, was on seemingly every podium from start to finish this year, and if she wasn’t on the podium she was in the top ten. Arndt stood on the podium 26 times in 2010 with five of those coming as a winner – including the German Time Trial Championships. The second place finishes were almost more impressive than the wins though – 2nd in the World Time Trial Championships, 2nd at La Route de France, 2nd at the Giro d’Italia Femminile, 2nd at the German Road Race Championships, and 2nd at the World Cup CP Ciudad de Valladolid.
Becker, without question the owner of a great season, was nowhere near the prodigious sum of the rider seven years her elder. The 27 year old Becker could count two race wins to her credit in 2010. Interestingly, they were both directly in front of Judith Arndt: the GP Ciudad de Valladolid and the German Road Race Championships. Her other win was as a member of her Cervelo Test Team’s victorious team time trial at the World Cup Open de Suede Vargarda – once again, Arndt followed in 2nd with HTC-Columbia.
The comparisons fall quickly short after that though. Two individual wins, one team time trial victory, and seven podium finishes.
A case can even be made for third place Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. The 36 year old sprinter pulled in sixteen individual victories and one team time trial victory.