The Cyclist of the Year, the Female Cyclist of the Year, the Young Athlete and the Team of the Year were honored on Wednesday evening at the Kaufleuten in Zurich. In addition to the traditional presentation of the awards, there were musical interludes by Basel singer Anna Rossinelli and an auction in aid of young talent. Under the direction of radio and television presenter Jonathan "Jontsch" Schächter, the bidding included a Fabian Cancellara racing bike. A total of 350 athletes and invited guests took part in this unique evening dedicated to Swiss cycling.

The Olympic and world champion makes the race

Nino Schurter wins the award for the best Swiss cyclist of 2016. In this great season, the Grisons native secured his fourth World Championship title in cross-country and won the World Cup races in Cairns (Au), Albstadt (De) and Lenzerheide (Sz). The 30-year-old reached the pinnacle of his career to date at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro (Br) when he won the gold medal.

Neff achieves the hat-trick

For the third time in a row, Jolanda Neff won the majority of the public and jury votes to take the prize for best female athlete of the year. In the past season, Neff was crowned world champion in the marathon and defended her title as European cross-country champion. The St. Gallen native also topped the podium at the World Cups in La Bresse (Fr) and Vallnord (And). Although it wasn't enough for a medal at the Olympic Games, Neff took home two Olympic diplomas with sixth and eighth place in the MTB cross-country and road race.

Sina Frei wins in the junior category

The winner in the junior category was mountain bike specialist Sina Frei. The 19-year-old had a brilliant season in her first year at U23 level. Frei became European champion and world championship runner-up in the U23 cross-country races. She also won the U23 overall World Cup.

Best team 2016: Forster, Neff, Guerrini and Albin

The prize for the best team this year went to Lars Forster, Jolanda Neff, Marcel Guerrini and Vital Albin. The quartet secured the gold medal in the team relay at the European Championships in Jönköping, Sweden. The four bikers accepted the team prize for this strong performance.

The Swiss Cycling Awards are divided into four categories. In addition to the women's and men's categories, the best young rider and the best team are also honored. For two weeks, from October 18 to November 1, the public was able to vote on www.swisscycling. ch to vote. The votes of nine sports journalists who specialize in cycling were also included in the voting. The public and the jury each had a 50 percent weighting.