No one could deserve the award more than him. Team Jumbo-Visma rider Jonas Vingegaard won at the age of 26 for the first time in his career in Saturday’s Sports Name of the Year, receiving the award from the Danish Sports Confederation and Team Denmark in Herning.
The Dane had a terrific season. He won the world’s biggest cycling race and became only the second Danish rider to top the overall Tour de France rankings, beating Slovenia’s wonderboy Tadej Pogačar, a cyclist many are tipping to dominate the sport for the next decade.
In addition to the victory, he also secured some big stage wins in other races, including the Critérium du Dauphiné and the CRO Race.
“I hope that I can help inspire others to start cycling or do another sport,” said Jonas Vingegaard from the stage.
The Dane also won the BT Gold Award ahead of tennis star Holger Rune and last year’s Sports Name of the Year winner, badminton player Viktor Axelsen.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg named footballer of the year
It was a disappointing year for Danish football, but one player stood out. Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg has been a key player for both his club and his country, so it was a fairly logical choice made by the Danish Football Association (DBU) and the Danish Football Association.
“It confirms that what you are doing is positive. This kind of recognition helps me to be motivated to continue on that path, but also to stay humble, honest and continue to develop,” he said when receiving the award won by Simon Kjær last year.
Meanwhile, Vålerenga defender Stine Ballisager won the women’s award, succeeding Signe Bruun.
In other categories, Ida Karsoft (athletics) won ‘Nothing is impossible’, Turpal Bisultanov (wrestling) ‘Olympic Hope’, Freja Jæger Poulsen (jiu-jitsu) ‘Volunteer Firefighter’, Tobias Thorning Jørgensen (para dressage) ‘Minister’s Sports Award’, Cykling Odense (cycling) ‘Sports Association of the Year’ and Piotr Wojewski (sailing) ‘Coach of the Year’.
Caroline Wozniacki inducted into the Hall of Fame
Finally, former tennis star Caroline Wozniacki was inducted into the Danish Sports Hall of Fame.
“When I was a little girl, probably nine or ten years old, and said I wanted to be the best in the world, many probably said ‘yes, yes, it’s good for you’. So I hope this can help inspire others,” she said when she was honored on stage.
The 2018 Australian Open winner spent 71 weeks as world number one in the WTA rankings between 2010 and 2011. She retired in 2020 at the age of 29.
The Dane joins fellow legends such as Peter Schmeichel, Michael Laudrup, Camilla Martin and Anja Andersen in the Hall of Fame. As part of her introduction, she will have her bust exhibited in Idrættens Hus in Brøndby. She will be the 39th athlete to be admitted after hurdler Sara Slott Petersen last year.
Danish handball players are favorites to make it a hat-trick of world titles
Denmark are 7/5 favorites to win the men’s handball world championships, which begin in Sweden and Poland on Wednesday and end on January 29. Should Denmark win, it will be their third World Cup in a row. Mikkel Hansen is the second favorite to become both MVP and top scorer (respectively 4/1 and 11/4), and tellingly maybe teammate Mathias Gidsel is also involved in becoming MVP, with 5/1, while Niklas Landin is an odds-on favorite to be named top keeper on the all-star team. Denmark’s first match is against Belgium on Friday at Malmö Arena at 20:30.
Kasper Dolberg to Hoffenheim on loan
The Danish striker Kasper Dolberg will play for the German team Hoffenheim in the second half of the season. The 25-year-old Dane has been loaned out again by French club OGC Nice after six months at Sevilla FC. He becomes teammates with two other Danish players, Robert Skov and Jacob Bruun Larsen.
FCK sign the Benfica striker
The Portuguese striker Diogo Goncalves, 25, has signed a four-year contract with FC Copenhagen. FCK are hoping that Goncalves, who played 98 games for Benfica, will help them back to the top of the Superliga.
New head coach for Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF have promoted their U21 coach Jesper Sørensen to take over the first team on a contract that runs until 2025. The club, which has been owned by Global Football Holdings since the end of October, sacked Niels Frederiksen after a disappointing first half of the season. Brøndby is number 10 in the Superliga, which resumes on the third weekend in February.
Kathrine Kühl to Arsenal
The Danish national team midfielder Kathrine Kühl, 19, is now an Arsenal player. The English club has picked up the young player from FC Nordsjælland, where she has been since 2018. Kühl has already played 21 games for the Danish national football team.
Strong year for Danish cyclists
According to data from ProCyclingStats, 2022 has been a fantastic year for Danish riders. They won 27 stages during the year, thanks to nine victories by Mads Pedersen and seven by Jonas Vingegaard – the most since 1999 when they won 30 stages. In 2021, there were 23 victories for the Danes.
Clara Tauson was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open
Clara Tauson, 20, will not participate in the Australian Open from January 16. The Dane has suffered a foot injury and has decided to stay in Europe to recover. The world number 108 is going to the south of France with his medical team to get well as soon as possible.
Holger Rune named Danish tennis player of the year
The Danish Tennis Association has logically chosen Holger Rune as the best Danish player in 2022. The 19-year-old had a terrific season, winning three tournaments – including the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris – and moving from world number 103 to 11th in the end of the year. He is the first male tennis player to win the award since 2012, when Frederik Løchte Nielsen won it.
Source: The Nordic Page