Marche Breaks

As he does, Rossi was competing fiercely—playing with the few opponents left riding—and at one point, his bike wobbled hard. Rossi lifted himself a bit off the bike and maneuvered with it, as if they were one, tied together by hair-like strings. Rossi held fast, whipped it proper and then continued riding. It all happened within a split second, but my shock and awe lasted long after it was over. For me, that race at Donington will always reign supreme as one of my favorite Rossi moments.

The Doctor—officially, after being awarded an honorary Doctorate in Communications from the University of Urbino—has performed countless mind-blowing feats atop his two-wheeled, MotoGP machine, so it seems only appropriate that he be nominated for Laureus’ Sportsman of the Year. According to a post at MotoGP.com, “Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi’s achievements in 2008 have been recognised with a nomination for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award, an honour that will be decided at the tenth edition of the Laureus World Sports Awards.”

A smattering of the world’s greatest sports stars have been nominated for the 10th Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by the world’s media. In addition to the eight-time MotoGP World Champ, who beat Giacomo Agostini’s record of 68 500cc wins, other nominees include: Usain Bolt (Jamaica), first man to win 100m, 200m and 4x100m Olympic gold medals in world records; Lewis Hamilton (UK), youngest ever Formula One World Champion at 23 years and 300 days; Rafael Nadal (Spain), won French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic gold medal to become tennis No.1; Michael Phelps (US), won eight gold medals in a single Olympiad to overtake Mark Spitz’s record, and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), FIFA World Player of the Year, scored 42 goals for Manchester United.

Still, for the master of all things fast, lover of WRC, a possible future with F1 (maybe?), Ladies and Gentlemen: Valentino Rossi deserves every honor awarded him.