World Champion road racer Lizzie Armitstead has been nominated for the BBC’s annual Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY) award.

The West Yorkshire Boels-Dolmans rider is nominated alongside two time Tour de France victor Chris Froome – giving the cycling community a double shot at a two-wheeled winner.

Cycling has held a strong position at the SPOTY awards ceremony over the past few years – taking three of the five spots between 2008 and 2012 – with Sir Chris Hoy (2008), Mark Cavendish (2011) and Sir Bradley Wiggins (2012). Previous  to that, the most recent winner was Tommy Simpson back in 1965.

Cavendish shares the closest relation to Armitstead, having claimed the SPOTY top prize after winning the World Championships that year.

Armitstead, who got engaged in September (it has been a busy year!), hadn’t expected to be on the list – and tweeted her surprise and delight, saying:

I spend my days chasing rainbows so my SPOTY nomination is a surprise bonus! Proud cycling is on the list twice and honoured to be included!

— Lizzie Armitstead (@L_ArmiTstead) December 1, 2015

The nominees were selected by a group of 12 panel members including representatives from BBC Sport, previous winners and journalists. The final winner will be selected via public vote on the eve of the accompanying TV programme, on Sunday December 20.

On her BBC SPOTY profile, Armitstead is honoured for her spectacular performance at the UCI World Championships, with special emphasis on the fact that she raced just over a week after a high profile crash at the Women’s Tour.

We already think she’s amazing, and we hope the British public agrees with us on December 20 – make sure to phone in or vote online on the night!