Discovering that you're one of the top ten contenders in line for Britain's most prestigious sports award might be enough to persuade most people to venture up the motorway to Sheffield. For Jenson Button and Mark Cavendish the journey to the BBC awards night was a little longer, as earlier in the month they were both on the island of Lanzarote getting in some warm weather training.

Lanzarote is a favourite at this time of year for top level European athletes, who go there for the warm, sunny weather and if you check out the pictures of Button on his Twitter page you'll see exactly what we mean. During his week long stay on the island Jenson clocked up an amazing 300 kilometers of cycling, 18 kilometers of running and 7km of swimming. Not bad for someone whose main job involves sitting down, but we all know that driving an F1 car is a lot more physical that it seems. The roads on Lanzarote were perfect for Button's cycle riding, being well surfaced and relatively free of traffic.

That suitability for cycling also brought Tour de France rider Mark Cavendish and his team to the island during December. They probably rode even more kilometers, using both the flat roads that circle the island and the hillier sections inland. For professional cyclists based in Europe the Canary Islands are just about the only place at the moment that can guarantee warm, dry conditions and many teams will use Lanzarote or Fuerteventura for their early season training camps.

Flythomascook.com offer a wide choice of flights to both Lanzarote and Fuerteventura during the winter months.