RACHEL IS FINALIST IN SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Rachel James is the latest Abergavenny RC member to make her mark on the world cycling stage, and she did it a long way from home. Aguascalientes in Mexico was the setting for Rachel’s two para World Championship gold medals this tear – piloting Sophie Thornhill to success in the tandem kilo and tandem sprint events.

Rachel teamed up with Sophie later in the year to pick up two more golds at the British National Track Championships.

Rachel is, quite rightly, a finalist in BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2014 and the winner will be announced on Monday, 8 December after a public vote which has now closed.

The other finallists chosen by an expert panel are:

Footballer Gareth Bale who became the first Welshman to score in a Champions League final. A hero among Real Madrid’s fans, the 25-year-old scored a vital goal in extra time to beat off rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final, And he has played a key part in all of Wales’ qualifiers for Euro 2016.

With team golds on the World and European Track championships, plus the World Cup and the Great Britain event, cyclist Elinor Barker is a recent winner of our Junior Award. At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow she won a bronze and silver medal individually. The 20-year-old has made 2014 the year she established herself among the elite of womens cycling.

2014 was the year it all came right for swimmer Jazz Carlin. Overcoming illness and injury plus her coach moving to Australia, the 24-year-old first picked up two golds in the European Long Course Championships. Then she became the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games ( in the 800m freestyle), followed by silver in the 400m the next day.

In the space of a few months mountain bike specialist Manon Carpenter won the Mountain Biking Downhill World Cup series and was gold medallist in the MTB DH World Championships. The 21-year-old from Caerphilly achieved this success only three years after she won the junior equivalents in 2011.

Swimmer Georgia Davies shone at Glasgow 2014. The Commonwealth Games 100m backstroke came first where Davies finished with silver. Three days later, the chance to go one step better came around and took gold in the 50m backstroke. After a 40-year drought, Wales now had two female swimmers as Commonwealth Games gold medallists.

Golfer Jamie Donaldson. The defeat of Keegan Bradley ensured Donaldson won three of his four games at Gleneagles despite his rookie status. The 38-year-old from Pontypridd has sneaked up on the golfing elite in recent years. Consistent top order finishes – rather than flashy wins – had put him near the top of the Order of Merit and he had sealed a place in the Ryder Cup team with victory in the Czech Masters – a perfect end to a momentous season for Jamie Donaldson.

Rhythmic gymnast Frankie Jones won one gold and five silvers to become the most successful individual Welsh athlete at the Commonwealth Games. Glasgow proved to be a golden end to the 24-year-old’s career. Wales’ flag bearer at the opening ceremony, Jones won silver after silver – but gold seemed elusive – until the ribbons.

Judoka Natalie Powell won Wales’ first ever Judo gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. The Cardiff University student had progressed through the rounds to secure a -78kg final showdown against England’s Gemma Gibbons. Powell, 24, defeated the 2012 Olympic silver medallist in a tense final to secure Wales’ second gold of the Games. Powell also went on to win gold at the World Grand Prix in October.

Cyclist Geraint Thomas became the first Welshman to win a cycling gold at the Commonwealth Games. A matter of days after claiming his highest-placed finish in the gruelling Tour de France, he won bronze in the Glasgow 2014 time trial, and was one of the favourites in the road race. But disaster struck. Having broken away, Thomas suffered a puncture, but with the pack gaining on him, he had time to replace the wheel and cross the finish line first. He was then made Wales flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.