Schurter and Süss honored as best Swiss cyclists of the year

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Nino Schurter and Esther Süss were named the best elite male and female cyclists at the 2012 Swiss Cycling Awards on Wednesday. The federation's annual awards were given out as part of the opening night festivities at the Six Day track race in Zürich.

For Schurter, 2012 was his best season yet. He was the most consistent rider on the international cross country circuit, winning the overall World Cup title. He also won the world championships and a silver medal at the Olympic Games in London.

Süss showed her versatility by excelling in both cross country and marathon races. This was the second time she was nominated for Swiss cyclist of the year; the first was in 2010. After winning a silver medal at the European cross country championships, she also claimed a bronze medal at the marathon world championships.

Another award went to Tom Bohli, 18, as most promising Swiss cyclist of the year. While mountain bikers usually win this category, this year Bohli claimed the honor as a road and track cyclist. He won a world and European title on the track and had several major international road results.

The Swiss track team of Tristan Marguet, Silvan Dillier, Loïc Perizzolo, Cyrille Thièry and Claudio Imhof were honored for their achievements this season. They were named the Best Swiss Team of the year.

The election process for best Swiss cyclists of the year began on November 1, 2012 and ended yesterday. Two-thirds of the voting came from 10 sports journalists while the public, via the Swiss Cycling website, accounted for the remaining third of the input used to decided the winners.