It is time for the 2003 Canadian Cyclist of the Year balloting to begin! This is the sixth year for these annual Reader's Choice awards. Thousands of readers will cast ballots to select the top Canadian cyclists for the 2003 cycling season. There will be 3 categories to vote on:

Canadian Cyclist of the Year - Male
Canadian Cyclist of the Year - Female
Best Individual Performance

Within each category we have pre-selected nominees, and have provided a short description of their accomplishments for the year. Your job is to choose among the possibilities within each category and submit your vote (one per person, please!). Voting will close at Noon EST, December 12th. The results will be posted on the Canadian Cyclist website the same day.

Canadian Male Cyclist of the Year:
Michael Barry 7th Road World Championships, 78th overall Vuelta, 2nd in stage of Volta a Algarve, 4th overall Tour of Georgia
Ryder Hesjedal Silver medal World Championship XC, 13th World Cup overall, top-15 UCI World Rankings, Overall Norba Series winner, multiple Norba victories and podium appearances
Max Plaxton National Junior XC Champion and Cyclo-cross Champion, 5th World Championships Junior XC, Bronze medal World Championship Team Relay, Canada Cup overall winner (won every race entered), Sea Otter winner (Junior)
Eric Wohlberg National ITT Champion (8th consecutive title), 25th ITT Road World Championships, 4th Langkawi ITT, Solano stage win, 5th overall Beauce, Sun Herald stage win, Queensland stage win, multiple victories and podium appearances


Canadian Female Cyclist of the Year:
Lyne Bessette 1st Liberty Classic, 2nd overall Tour de l'Aude (and stage win), National ITT Champion, 2nd Nationals Road Race, 2nd overall Sea Otter (stage win), 2nd Redlands, 1st overall 'Toona, 14th UCI World Rankings (highest Canadian), multiple victories and podium appearances
Marie-Helene Premont National XC Champion, 5th World Championships XC, 3rd World Cup Final, multiple top-5 World Cup results, 10th UCI World Rankings, 4th overall World Cup, multiple victories and podium appearances.
Genevieve Jeanson 1st Montreal World Cup, 5th Worlds ITT, National Road Champion, 2nd Nationals ITT, 1st Pomona, 1st Redlands, 1st Sea Otter, 16th UCI World Rankings, multiple victories and podium appearances.
Sue Palmer-Komar 2nd Fleche-Wallone World Cup, 3rd National Championships, 13th Road Worlds (top Canadian), 1st Joe Martin stage race, 1st San Rafael, 35th UCI World Rankings, multiple victories and podium appearances.
Alison Sydor Silver medal World Championship XC, 2nd Grouse World Cup, 7th overall World Cup, 4th UCI World Rankings, multiple Norba and other international event placings, Pan Am champion


Best Individual Performance:
Michael Barry 2003 Road Worlds, Men's Road race - 7th. Highest Canadian finish since Steve Bauer in 1984.
Roland Green Tour de Langkawi - Genting Highlands. Dominated climber's competition and took the Mountain Jersey after animating the 25 kilometre climb. Finished 3rd in the stage, 4th overall.
Ryder Hesjedal World Championships XC - 2nd. Led for most of the race, and finished second, in his first year as an elite rider.
Marie-Helene Premont Grouse World Cup - 4th. Comes back from two flats to finish just behind 3rd. Only rider to put in faster lap time than winner Gunn-Rita Dahle.
Genevieve Jeanson Montreal Women's World Cup - 1st. Wins on the hardest World Cup course for the second time in three years.
Dominique Perras National Championships Road Race - gold medal. Made solo attack late in the race while rivals watching each other, held on to win on Worlds course.
Alison Sydor World Championships XC - 2nd. Led for most of the race, and finished second, preserving an incredible streak of 13 top-5 Worlds results.