It was a very proud occasion for our sprint sensation Mark Cavendish last night (Sunday) at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in Sheffield.

The Isle of Man really got behind the Manx missile, shortlisted after his stellar year in the saddle, which saw him win the Milan-San Remo and six stages of the Tour de France among an impressive 23 professional victories.

In the end, he had to settle for fourth place, polling just under 56,000 votes – well clear of fifth placed gymnast Beth Tweddle.

Ryan Giggs was the clear winner, receiving 29.4 per cent of the vote – nearly 152,000 votes - well ahead of Formula One world champion Jenson Button (nearly 97,000 votes) with world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis third with more than 80,000 votes.

Cavendish had earlier been introduced to the crowd in Sheffield and spoke to the BBC’s Sue Barker.