Bradley Wiggins’s remarkable year came to a perfect conclusion last night as he was named winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in the city where he cruised to Olympic glory this summer.

Having clinched gold in the time trial at London 2012 just 10 days after becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France, Wiggins was always the strong favourite to win the prestigious award.

And the cyclist duly won last night’s public vote, beating Jessica Ennis and Andy Murray into second and third places on an evening that paid tribute to Britain’s Olympic stars. The Duchess of Cambridge and David Beckham presented the top award. Wiggins (32) has enjoyed the finest year of his career, winning the Tour, Olympic gold, Paris-Nice, the Tour of Romandy and Criterium du Dauphine.