Zabel and Arndt cyclists of the year in Germany

Erik Zabel and Judith Arndt have been voted as Cyclists of the Year by the readers of the German magazine RadSport. Zabel, who finished second in Milan-San Remo and the World Championships, as well as fourth in the Olympic Road Race, netted 36.3 percent of the votes to beat young star and Tour of Germany winner Patrik Sinkewitz (23.4 percent) and national champion and Tour de France runner up Andreas Klöden (19.8 percent).

"I'm surprised that I was able to win this year, because in sporting terms everything didn't go so smoothly," said Zabel. "The RadSport readers have considered my consistency over the years. I'm very happy about this win, as it is an expression of the esteem that I am held in and my successes."

The women's category was practically a no-contest, with Olympic silver medalist and World Champion Judith Arndt netting 86.3 percent of the votes, ahead of German champion Petra Rossner (5.2 percent) and Olympic MTB bronze medalist Sabine Spitz (3.6 percent). "This vote has a lot of meaning for me," said Arndt. "It is feedback from the public, which shows me that they didn't react badly to me showing the middle finger out of anger in Athens."