Wielrenner Philippe Gilbert was the big winner last night at the Sportsman of the Year gala in Belgium. However, the breakthrough of Clément Desalle also managed to charm many people. 'MX Panda' finished just outside the top ten and came in eleventh. Below you can see the complete ranking. Behind the name is the number of votes, in brackets the number of first places in the referendum.
Sportsman of the year 2009
1. Philippe Gilbert (cycling) 856 (137)
2. Niels Albert (cyclocross) 377 (19)
3. Didier Mbenga (basketball)236 (11)
4. Tom Boonen (cycling)213 (5)
5. Sven Nys (cyclocross)180 (0)
6. Jonathan Borlée (athletics)179 (3)
7. Thomas Vermaelen (football)143 (1)
8. Kevin Borlée (athletics) 141 (3)
9. Joerie Vansteelant (duathlon)72 (6)
10. Dirk Van Tichelt (judo)71 (1)
11. Clément Desalle (motocross)57 (0)
12. Kevin Van der Perren (figure skating)51 (1)
13. Tim Maeyens (rowing)49 (0)
14. Tom Goegebuer (weightlifting)47 (2)
15. Roel Paulissen (mountain bike)42 (0)
16. Jurgen Van den Broeck (cycling)37 (0)
17. Marino Vanhoenacker (triathlon)33 (1)
18. Frank Depestele (volleyball)27 (1)
19. Wim De Deyne (short track)26 (0)
20.Michel Kleinjans (sailing)26 (0)
21. Donna-Donny Truyens (gymnastics)25 (0)
22. Brian Ryckeman (swimming)21 (0)
23. Stijn Devolder (cycling)20 (4)
24. Nicolas Colsaerts (golf)20 (0)
25. Axel Hervelle (basketball)16 (0)
26. Christophe Soumillon (equestrian)14 (0)
27. Daniël Van Buyten (football)10 (0)
28. Dominique Cornu (cycling)9 (0)
29. Bert Jammaer (triathlon)8 (0)
30. Bertrand Baguette (motorsport) 7 (0)
31. Moussa Dembele (football)6 (0)
Photo credit: CDS
