Max Mosley leads Cross Sports Book Awards winners

Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague, former women’s UFC champion Ronda Rousey and former president of Formula One’s governing body Max Mosley were among the winners at the Cross Sports Book Awards on Wednesday (1st June).

The winners of all 10 categories were announced last night, with Spanish football expert Balague’s in-depth Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography (Orion) taking home Barclay’s Football Book of the Year.

Former FIA president Mosley beat competition from Steven Gerrard, Nigel Mansell and Sir Anthony McCoy to bag the award for Cross Autobiography of the year for Formula One and Beyond (Simon & Schuster), while UFC fighter Rousey’s book My Fight, Your Fight (Arrow), was named best international autobiography.

Rousey was not in attendance, although her co-writer and sister Maria Burns Ortiz accepted the award on her behalf. She said: “I, Ronda and the team are so excited and honoured that this book resonated across Britain and we’re proud to win the award. We wanted to write a book that would make an impressio with a wide audience and we’re so happy it achieved that.”

Judges across the awards included former rugby union stars Brian Moore and Lawrence Dallaglio, three time world champion and Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle, and BBC sport commentator Simon Brotherton. 

A special award for oustanding contribution to sports writing was also went to football journalist and former Arsenal goalkeeper Brian Glanville who’s charity, the Willow Foundation bringing ‘special days’ to the seriously ill between 16 and 40, partnered the event.

The winners of all 10 categories will now be entered into an online public vote to determine the overall Cross Sports Book of the Year, in assoociation with The Times. A prize draw will reward voters with £100 worth of National Book Tokens, with the winning book named shortly after voting closes at midnight on June 16th.

A full list of the winners:

Cross Autobiography of the Year

Max Mosley Formula One and Beyond (Simon and Schuster)

The Times Biography of the Year

Andy Bull Speed Kings (Bantam Press)

Littlehampton Book Services Cricket Book of the Year

Tim Lane and Eliot Cartledge Chasing Shadows: The Life and Death of Peter Roebuck (Hardie Grant)

Cycling Book of the Year

David Millar The Racer (Yellow Jersey Press)

Barclays Football Book of the Year

Guillem Balague Cristiano Ronaldo (Orion)

Illustrated Book of the Year

Bob Martin 1/1000th: The Sports Photography of Bob Martin (Vision Sports Publishing)

Cross International Autobiography of the Year

Ronda Rousey My Fight, Your Fight (Arrow)

Freshtime New Writer of the Year

Ed Caesar Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon (Viking)

Outstanding Contribution to Sports Writing

Brian Glanville

Outstanding Sports Writing of the Year

William Finnegan Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life (Little, Brown)

Rugby Book of the Year

Tom English No Borders: Playing Rugby for Ireland (Arena Sport)