2022 Pinkbike Awards: Athlete of the Year Winner
Athlete of the Year Winner
2022 provided a classic year of racing with no shortage of drama and excitement. With plenty of nail-biting finishes and huge sends across all forms of racing and competition it was pretty difficult to not only pick our nominees but also our worthy winner.
So while we were impressed with plenty of riders this year, the 2022 Athlete of the Year award goes to...
Why she's the winner
While there were plenty of outstanding athletes in 2022 it's impossible to overlook the sheer historic achievement of becoming the World Champion of four disciplines at the same time. From XC to XC to XCM and Gravel, Pauline has proven she is the best in the world across a range of conditions, a feat that is unlikely to be beaten or matched by any other rider for quite some time. It's important to add that Pauline not only achieved at World Champs but also won a perfect weekend at the final World Cup of the year in Val di Sole winning the XC and XCC races.
Any rider that can achieve such dominance in a single year is well deserving of the Athlete of the Year title.
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149 Comments
Fr tho she’s a savage, I can’t stand to pedal that much
They really are quite different though. Generally, athletes are quite specialized in their preferred cardio range. To be World Champ in both XCC and XCM shows some extreme adaptability. It is such a wide range I can hardly think of an equivalent in sports. Even Katie Ledecky, the GOAT of swimming, isn't winning both the 100m and the 1500m.
Mr.
She also had one of the busiest and most successful racing schedules in 2022 than almost anybody:
Cape Epic (third)
6 out of the 9 WC events (one XCO win and two XCC wins)
XCC World Championships (first)
XCO World Championships (first)
XCM World Championships (first)
European XCO Championships (second)
French National XCO Championships (second)
French National XCC Championships (first)
French National XCM Championships (second)
French Cup Superdevoluy (second)
Roc d'Azur (first)
ÖKK Bike Revolution Huttwil (first)
Gravel World Championships (first)
I don't think you can say that she just "peaked for certain events".
Is she an awesome rider? Yes. Is she on a league of her own? Yes. Is she a role model? Yes! Is her cycling career noteworthy? Yes! Does she deserves rider of the year? Yes, Yes, Yes! Is she beautiful? Absolutely.
I don´t think any of these statements diminishes her in any level nor have any form of sexism imbued in them or draw attention to anything else that she deserves. If you find it sexist, the sexism is in your own mind.
IMO she’s got a ridiculous engine but she’s a boring racer. Cautious on the descents and mentally fragile if things aren’t going her way.
If you had won 4 World Championships in a single year and the second thing someone had to say about you was how handsome you were, you'd find it odd, right?
I'm not some PC crybaby proclaiming this comment is some kind of awful outright misogyny. It's just a weird thing to say all things considered.
I would say no because 99.9 percent of the worlds population would look at her and have no clue what she does for a living let alone know shes a multiple world champ, they would however find her attractive though. No matter what I do for a living, if the second thing anyone had to say about me was he sure is good looking, I would have no problem with that. Better than hearing, hes a great bike rider but my f*ck is he ugly.
What else would you list as a cultural change? Going along with men who decide to call themselves women? Calling pregnant women ‘pregnant people’? Agreeing that all cultures are compatible? Accepting peadophillia as sexual preference?
Racist!
Nazi!
Denier!
White Male!
How dare you.
@MDW83: My wife use to comment on Greg Minnaar being hot. I had to beat her to make her stop.
I see your point of view, but I respectfully disagree. You might be comparing apples to gas leaks when you think that flattering someone by saying that he/she is gorgeous is misrepresentating their accomplishments.
She is a phenomenal rider, I am a fan of her for a long time. I remember when she won Road, Cyclocross and XC at the same year. Quite a feat most dickweeds tend to disregard. If I recall correctly that year she was nominated rider of the year too but I don´t think she got the award.
Nazi!
Denier!
White Male!
You hit them all! Truly the worst BINGO.
I'm just glad we each were able to have meaningful deliberation. I get your perspective, even if it perhaps isn't my own. Contextually, this comment strikes me as odd still, nonetheless inoffensive. I'm certain @Geochemistry meant it as you said, a compliment.
@MDW83: I didn't realize that you were the person who dictates what factors into the discussion, I didn't even bring this shit up, I merely spoke to the amount of downvotes the original comment got for providing two positive statements.
Look boys I'm just gonna remove myself from engaging this further with either of you two sexy mofos as this is going nowhere. You have your interpretation of the state of the world which I find funny and that's just fine! I hope you good looking dudes keep fighting the good fight and realize that no matter what you do, people will always be judging you based on your looks (human nature). Hope you Adonis like gentlemen have a great day.
It’s a fact that women of the same ability earn more if they’re attractive. You can be culturally outraged by that but it remains a fact. Maybe we should castrate all men?
Women will not only comment when a guy looks good, but they'll all join in and make it a way of belonging. If a woman tried poo-pooing that kind of thing, she would be ostracized from her female ranks forever.
How many guys do you know of who can get a job as an assistant because he looks good?
How many guys do you know of who can convince women to give them money for posting provocative pictures?
How many dudes do you know of who wear makeup to look better?
Being attractive is a form of currency, and no one collects that currency better than women.
How can you not know this? Are you a child???
You took an online compliment calling a woman "awesome and beautiful too,"and conflated it with sexual requests, harassment in the street, and, of course, racism.
The only thing more frightening than your stupidity is your confidence in it.
Enjoy your fantasy world.
But if you make such arguments, then the onus is on you to demonstrate it is so.
Your thinking indicates that because you saw something was the case once, it must be the case every time.
How do you suggest we fix this dreadful situation? Male castration? Ban men from talking to women? Signing a petition?
@jclnv how about we just don't comment on looks when that isn't the topic at hand? Again, not proclaiming this comment some act of pure misogyny, it is merely off-topic and a little tone-deaf. You (and many others on this site) are so worked up to politicize the comments that you've all missed the point.
And although I'm sure Geochemistry meant it as a compliment, PFP is not here, she will not see it so who is the audience? The audience is people who are reading this article and (supposed to be) celebrating an astounding athlete's athletic accomplishments.
The reason you and others seek to make an issue out of these things is because you belong to the vocal minority of holier-than-thou narcissists who see themselves fit to declare what others are allowed to communicate.
By your own line of logic, I ought to be able to speak my mind. Just as the guy at the top of this thread spoke his, just as you spoke yours. If the foundation of @jclnv 's argument is essentially "this shouldn't be controversial" then my answer is that commenting on looks as a compliment when the subject isn't present, nor was that within what was being discussed, is absolutely going to cause controversy.
Your argument is probably worse than Jamie's, directive ad hominem that had nothing to do with what was being discussed.
You're speaking your mind in arguing no one else be free to do so unless their comments pass your scrutiny. But go on, pretend you're a hero for all the down-trodden female athletes who've ever been complimented on their looks.
Please, just go read the rest of the thread I'm not arguing with you about your misinterpretation of my opinions.
Misrepresentative of her accomplishments was what I said. "Awesome" and "beautiful" describe a lot of women, but seem to under-sell what this article was about.
As far as saying PFP is awesome, and really good-looking, to whom exactly is such a comment "misrepresentative her accomplishments?" And why is that important to you enough to tell others to stop?
My opine is that given what this article is about calling her awesome and beautiful is a bit irrelevant and misrepresentative.
What this debate is not about what @Geochemistry can or cannot say, that was you pivoting your argument. He, alike anyone else, can say what he pleases, and we all have the freedom to say what we like about it.
I'm not in league with @BenPea @skywalkdontrun @jclnv etc., I actually quite despise the way you all turn immediately to personal attacks rather than reasoned debate. I'm not here for these elementary name-calling antics. It's purely non-constructive.
That’s what I personally despise and I think the outrageous reactions in this thread to someone stating that someone is beautiful typifies this woke insanity.
My favourite was being at a mates house party when I was around 28. For whatever reason there was a schoolgirl there..... I'd not even looked at her but she started making extremely sexually suggestive comments to me involving the consumption of 'Gentlemans Relish' amongst other things.... I had no choice but to literally run out of the party as soon as she looked the other way. I kept running down the stairs and out of the building to the screams of "WIIIIIIILLLLLL!!!!!" from behind me. Imagine this story but the other way around and me being aggressive to a school girl and where I wanted my sauce to go? I'd be locked up for life!!
Anyway, carry on with this unwinnable debate everyone
I think there is merit to political correctness so long as it doesn't overstep its boundaries. To over-apply critical ideology is wasting its merits.
I also think there is room to understand this comment as a compliment but acknowledge it was bound to miss the mark given the audience that was going to see it.
I may be wrong but I think the majority of people in the western nations would probably think it was acceptable to call PFP beautiful, regardless of context.
Personal attack?
You write that much in an attempt to give counsel to strangers on what is permissible expression. To me that looks like it's coming from someone with an inflated sense of themselves.
You keep looking for a fight, neither of these last couple of comments have anything to do with what is being discussed. You can keep looking for one, I'm done replying, feel free to write pages about my character since you seem so obsessed, and I won't "censure" you.
It seems as though you've realized how silly your position essentially is.
Maybe you haven’t experienced something like that because your woke indoctrination has emasculated you to the point that you don’t know how to behave around women?
www.rainn.org/ThatsHarassment
She’s been overlooked because Chanel West Coast gets all the media attention.
I think we see a bit of the PB community bias towards descent oriented riding in the comments about these disciplines all bring the same field, but I think this feels a bit narrow minded. It takes some impressive athleticism to be world champ in all, even if there are similarities!
Also, is it really so controversial to say it is not an appropriate time to comment on somebody's appearance when talking about their professional achievements? Jeez...
*enter French commenters
She also had one of the busiest and most successful racing schedules in 2022 than almost anybody:
Cape Epic (third)
6 out of the 9 WC events (one XCO win and two XCC wins)
XCC World Championships (first)
XCO World Championships (first)
XCM World Championships (first)
European XCO Championships (second)
French National XCO Championships (second)
French National XCC Championships (first)
French National XCM Championships (second)
French Cup Superdevoluy (second)
Roc d'Azur (first)
ÖKK Bike Revolution Huttwil (first)
Gravel World Championships (first)
I don't think you can say that she "skipped out on World Cups to peak for World Champs".
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