I'm taking two days off over Christmas but will be back on the 27th and will present my unorthodox season review before the new year. It's Christmas eve and though there is much to celebrate, not all of the riders are feeling the Christmas spirit. Here's this years Christmas winners and losers...

There is not long now until Christmas, which means that the 2013 season is edging closer. Unfortunately much of the recent news remains firmly focused on the past, and in the case of Alessandro Ballan the crux of his 2013 season looks to already be over...

As pro-cyclists everywhere re-find their love of the bike at their respective winter training camps - working hard, building up base miles, getting back into their strict diets - there will be little time or allowance for much more than a single glass of pinot-noir and a mince pie this Chirstmas. Somebody try telling Bradley Wiggins that! After his 2012 he's every right to let lose and celebrate and we all know he is partial to a beer or ten - there were some less than flattering photo's of 'Wiggo' doing the rounds in the rags after his SPOTY win looking a little, well, pissed. But it's nice to see at least one rider getting into the party mood: Here's Bradley Wiggins at the SPOTY after-party with a rendition of Oasis - Wonderwall, now known simply as 'Wiggowall'...enjoy.

Unless you have been locked in a cupboard for the last 2 months you will be aware that tonight is once again Sports Personality Of The Year night. This award has a bit of an unusual status - a good deal of the nation watches it, but the award itself is rarely taken as being a 'major' achievement in any sportsman's career, it's nice to win but doesn't really mean a great deal. However, tonight's award could confirm a massive shift in the publics perception of cycling and bring what has been a 'fringe' sport well and truly to the masses...

It's been a slow couple of weeks and with Christmas fast approaching things look set to get even quieter - in the cycling world that is, but with Christmas comes the new year and with the new year comes the new season. Until then, you will just have to make do with a few shorts...

Most people are probably counting down the days until Christmas which if they have been good could mean a new jersey, a new wheelset or if they are really lucky, a new bicycle! But it certainly isn't 46 days until Christmas. No, this event is much more important to cycling fans (some will probably be counting in hours, minutes and seconds!) - that's right, its 46 days until the start of the 2013 WorldTour season...

With some images of the new team bikes for 2013 starting to do the rounds, how about this for a Tour winning bike? Forget today's 7kg weight weenies, this brute won the first ever Tour de France in 1903 - it travelled 1509 miles, over six stages averaging around 250 miles each under the legs of eventual winner Maurice Garin. OK, so there were not any mountain passes but a few lesser cols, the highlight of which was col de la République at 3,809 ft - nothing much by today's standards, but take a closer look at the picture...yes, that is a single speed!

Team Skys anti-doping policy has come under much scrutiny lately, and though I don't agree with every aspect of the 'sign or die' or policy, I was left feeling a little empty when Sean Yates wriggled out of the back door with his 'need to spend time with family' line rather than face the music and set the record straight like a man with dignity. So when I hear that Mick Rogers looks set to be joining Saxobank via the same back door, I was left a little bemused...