Grapevine: Alonso loses out to Federer

Croatian skier Janica Kostelic took the women's prize after an unprecedented fourth Winter Olympic gold, while Federer's compatriot Martina Hingis won the Comeback of the Year award, a day after her first singles title success in over four years.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Federer's great rival, was named Newcomer of the Year after 12 months in which the 19-year-old was crowned French Open champion and became unbeatable on clay.

Formula One world champions Renault won the team award, offering some consolation to losing nominee Fernando Alonso, who became the sport's youngest-ever champion.

"This is a wonderful award for the whole Renault F1 Team," said team boss Flavio Briatore. "Formula One is a world in which the fundamental role of the team in achieving success is not always fully appreciated. At Renault, we know that a team has a heart, and that heart is its people.

"This award reflects the dedication, commitment and ambition of the more-than 800 women and men who made last year's World Championship success possible. Congratulations to each and every one of them."

Along with Alonso, Federer beat off competition from seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, Brazil's Ronaldinho, two-time winner Tiger Woods, and Italian motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi, who picked up a Spirit of Sport award after three fruitless years as a contender.

South African wheelchair racer Ernst van Dyk, with a fifth straight win at the Boston Marathon, won the disabled sportspersons award.

Angelo d'Arrigo, the Italian hang-glider known as the 'Human Condor' who was killed in an air crash in March, was posthumously given the alternative sportsperson's award.

In a city still suffering the hangover of Barcelona's Champions League win last Wednesday, former club player and coach Johan Cruyff was presented with a Lifetime Achievement award for his contribution to football.

Kostelic, who won the women's combined event at the Turin Olympics, beat rivals including Yelena Isinbayeva, the first woman to pole vault over five metres, U.S. Open tennis champion Kim Clijsters, and ex-winner, Swedish golfer Annika Sorenstam.

The awards are decided by a jury of 40 of the greatest sportsmen and women of all time, from a shortlist put together by a panel of journalists from around the world.

The awards are twinned with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a charitable venture seeking to assist the underprivileged and needy around the world.