Caerphilly’s double world champion mountain biker Manon Carpenter came third in the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year.
The 21-year-old was crowned UCI Mountain Bike World Champion in Hafjell, Norway on September 7, just days after she won the seven-stage World Cup Series, and won the top prize at the Welsh Cycling Awards.
At the awards, decided by public vote, on December 8, she finished behind fellow cyclist Geraint Thomas, who she pipped at the Welsh Cycling Awards, and gymnast Frankie Jones.
Carpenter rides for the Madison Saracen Factory Team and was crowned junior world champion and world cup winner in 2011, adding the elite accolades to her success for the first time this season.
She said: “It was really nice, I didn’t expect it at all. When me and Frankie heard we were second and third it took us a while to catch up.
“I had a lot of support online from the mountain biking community, but when I saw the nominations and who I was up against, and the fact it’s Commonwealth year, it’s pretty amazing.”