Bagnaia with Messi, Mbappé, Nadal and other stars in the running for the Laureus Awards

The victory of the world title in the MotoGP class, conquered after recovering a disadvantage of 91 points during last season, earned Francesco Bagnaia the nomination in the “Comeback of the Year” category of the Laureus World Sports Awards. The driver from Turin is one of the great sportsmen in the running for the Oscar dello Sport which will be awarded in April. With him, in the other categories, there are champions such as Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Christian Eriksen, Steph Curry, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Max Verstappen, Tiger Woods, Katie Ledecky, Mikaela Shiffrin or teams of the caliber of the Argentine men’s national team champion of the world in Qatar, Real Madrid and the Golden State Warriors.

BAGNAIA… RETURN OF THE YEAR

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Bagnaia is fighting for a title, that of “Return of the Year”, which has been missing in Italy since 2009, when it was Valentino Rossi who conquered it. Pecco was the first to win the riders’ championship on the saddle of Ducati since Casey Stoner in 2007: he joins Giacomo Agostini (he had succeeded in 1972) among the Italian riders who have won the title on an Italian bike and is became the first to win in the premier class after leaving the VR46 Academy, founded by Valentino Rossi in 2014 to nurture young Italian talent. “Being shortlisted for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year is a great honor for me. Last year I saw the recognition given to Valentino Rossi as ‘Laureus Sporting Icon’, and today being nominated for one of the most prestigious international sporting awards is already a great source of pride for me» said Francesco Bagnaia. Giacomo Agostini, motorcycling legend and member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, added: «For many years the only name we have associated with MotoGP in Italy has been that of Valentino Rossi, the timeless champion. Last year when he was awarded as a Sports Icon it was nice to see how our sport was recognized on a global scale. Having him as a guide and mentor helped Francesco: he proved it last season with the great disadvantage that he recovered. No one had ever managed to mend such a wide gap». To win the prestigious award, Bagnaia will have to overcome the competition from Tiger Woods, who after 14 months of absence due to a serious car accident is back in business, participating in the Masters; Christian Eriksen, former Inter midfielder, currently with Manchester United, back on the pitch after a cardiac arrest suffered at Euro 2020; Annemiek van Vleuten, who in 2022, at the age of forty, won the Tour de France, her third Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta and, with the Holland jersey, the road race of the world championship; Klay Thompson, who won the NBA title with the Golden State Warriors after 941 days of absence due to injury; and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who made up for his disappointment in the 1500m final by winning the world title over the 5,000m distance.

MESSI, MBAPPE’ AND THE OTHERS

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All the names of the nominees were officially announced yesterday, selected thanks to the votes of over 1,400 journalists from around the world, while the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced in the spring after the voting of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the judging panel 71 sports legends. For the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, Lionel Messi (the big favorite), Kylian Mbappé, Rafael Nadal, Max Verstappen, Armand Duplantis and Steph Curry, MVP of the NBA Finals are in the running. While Lionel Messi is in the running for the Sportsman Award, his Argentina is a candidate for the Laureus World Team of the Year award after their World Cup triumph. Also competing are Real Madrid, winner of the Champions League, the English women’s national soccer team, which conquered the European Championships, the Golden State Warriors, Oracle Red Bull Racing, capable of winning the F1 constructors’ title by overcoming competition from Mercedes , who had dominated for the previous eight seasons, and France’s men’s national rugby union team, who clinched the Six Nations after a 12-year abstinence.

CATEGORIES

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Here is the complete list of nominees, category by category.

Sportsman of the Year: Steph Curry (USA) basketball, Armand Duplantis (Sweden) athletics, Kylian Mbappé (France) football, Lionel Messi (Argentina) football, Rafael Nadal (Spain) tennis, Max Verstappen (Netherlands) motor racing.

Sportswoman of the year: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica) athletics, Katie Ledecky (USA) swimming, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) athletics, Alexia Putellas (Spain) soccer, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) alpine skiing, Iga Świątek (Poland) tennis.

Team of the Year: Argentina men’s national soccer team, England women’s national soccer team, France men’s national rugby team, Golden State Warriors (USA) basketball, Real Madrid (Spain) soccer, Oracle Red Bull Racing (Austria) motoring.

Revelation of the year: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) tennis, Tobi Amusan (Nigeria) athletics, Nathan Chen (USA) figure skating, Morocco men’s national soccer team, Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) tennis, Scottie Scheffler (USA) golf.

Return of the year: Francesco Bagnaia (Italy) motorcycling, Christian Eriksen (Denmark) soccer, Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) athletics, Klay Thompson (USA) basketball, Annemiek van Vleuten (Netherlands) cycling, Tiger Woods (USA) golf.

Sportsman with a disability: Diede de Groot (Netherlands) wheelchair tennis, Catherine Debrunner (Switzerland) para athletics, Declan Farmer (USA) para ice hockey, Cameron Leslie (New Zealand) para swimming and wheelchair rugby, Oksana Masters (USA) ski paralympic cross-country skiing, Jesper Saltvik Pedersen (Norway) paralympic alpine skiing.

Athlete of the Year in Action Sports: Justine Dupont (France) big wave surfing, Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) surfing, Eileen Gu (China) freestyle skiing, Chloe Kim (USA) snowboarding, Rayssa Leal (Brazil) skateboarding, Filipe Toledo (Brazil) surfing.

Sports for the common good: Programs selected by a specialized jury. The Laureus Academy will choose the winner from Boxgirls (Kenya), boxing, supporting young women and fighting stereotypes; High Five (Germany), action sports, helps migrants and orphans integrate into new communities; Made For More (South Africa), multi-sport, makes sport inclusive for people with disabilities; Slum Soccer (India), soccer, supports homeless youth through sport and education; TeamUp (Global), physical exercise; the project supported by War Child, Unicef ​​and Save the Children which allows refugee children to relieve stress through physical activity.