By Marc Vesty

It feels like just a lap of a velodrome ago that Chris Hoy was giving his heartfelt acceptance speech after he was handed the Sports Personality of the Year trophy by Michael Johnson in Liverpool, in December.

In fact we are almost halfway through 2009 and the line of sport stars waiting to replace the popular Scot is growing by the day.

With last year's top three of Hoy, Lewis Hamilton and Rebecca Adlington all yet to stake their claim for the 2009 award the field looks wide open.

BBC Sport looks through the runners and riders who could feature in this year's top 10 nominees.

Setting the pace

Still warming up

JENSON BUTTON (29, English, Motorsport)

Who would have seen this coming? Unsure whether he would even have a car to race in before the start of the Formula 1 season, Button has been reborn as the Championship favourite in his Brawn GP car.

Button pleased after Bahrain win

The 29-year-old Englishman is four races into his 10th year in Formula 1 and only now has he started to win Grand Prix races on a regular basis.

Button's victory in Bahrain - his third from the first four races of the season - was that of a truly great driver at the absolute top of his game.

SPOTY prediction: Lift the F1 title and it will take some effort to prevent Button becoming the fifth racing driver to triumph.

ANDY MURRAY (21, Scottish, Tennis)
Murray started the year ranked fourth in the world and immediately inflicted defeats on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick to win in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

At the first Slam of the year Murray was seeded fourth at the Australian Open but lost out to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.

The Scot claimed his third successive victory over world number one Nadal to win the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam before losing to Nadal in the Indian Wells final and beating world number three Novak Djokovic in the Miami Masters final.

The Miami victory gave Murray a Tim Henman-equaling 11th career tour title, can he add a Slam to that in 2009?

SPOTY prediction: If Murray becomes the first British man to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry's 1936 US Open triumph, few would be against him adding the SPOTY trophy to it in December.

CARL FROCH (31, English, Boxing)
Froch stepped up to win the vacant WBC Super Middleweight title, defeating Jean Pascal on points in December 2008.

Froch is unbeaten in 25 professional fights with 20 by knockout

But in April 2009 Britain's only boxing World Champion sent his career soaring to new heights.

Froch headed to America to fight former champion Jermain Taylor in his first defence and survived a third-round knockdown, the first of his career, before sensationally knocking out his opponent in the twelfth round.

SPOTY prediction: The win over Taylor was as dramatic as they come but SPOTY glory may rest on who Froch lines up next. Could 2007 SPOTY winner Joe Calzaghe pull his gloves on again?

Rory McIlroy (19, Northern Ireland, Golf)
Rising star Rory McIlroy is already a big name on the PGA Tour at the tender age of 19.

Since turning pro in 2007, the Northern Irishman has come close to victory in the European Masters and at the Hong Kong Open but lost both in a play-off.

But he claimed his first European Tour win at the Dubai Desert Classic in February and ended his first Masters on a high note by shooting 31 on the back nine for a final-round 70 at Augusta.

SPOTY prediction: It seems just a matter of time before McIlroy wins a Major and it may just be a matter of time before he wins the SPOTY trophy, could 2009 be too soon though?

CLAIRE TAYLOR (33, English, Cricket)
England's World Cup-winning batter Claire Taylor was the World Cup player of the tournament, scoring 324 runs at an average of 64.

Taylor was the World Cup player of the tournament

The 33-year-old from Berkshire also became the first woman to be named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 120 years of the award.

Taylor has been a driving force behind the England women's recent success.

In 2008 she helped England's women retain the Ashes with a six-wicket victory over Australia in the one-off Test in Bowral making 64 not out.

SPOTY prediction: Winning the World Cup in March was a huge achievement and could put Taylor in the running.

A.P. McCoy (34, Northern Irish, Jockey)
Jockey Tony McCoy became the first man to ride 3,000 winners over jumps in Britain and Ireland when he rode Restless D'Artaix to victory in February.

The 14-times champion jockey rode his first winner, Legal Steps, at Thurles in 1994 when he was 17 years old.

But the country's most high-profile race, the Grand National at Aintree, still eludes the Northern Irishman, who finished seventh on Butler's Cabin in 2009

SPOTY prediction: A horse racing legend who will be tipped for the top ten, but a jump jockey has never won SPOTY.

MARA YAMAUCHI (35, English, Marathon)
Yamauchi finally ran from beneath the shadow of Paula Radcliffe with her second place finish at the 2009 London Marathon in a personal best time.

Yamauchi's career has been building steadily having finished sixth in London last year and sixth in the Beijing Olympic Marathon.

The next challenge for Yamauchi is to consistently finish in the top three at the world's big marathons.

SPOTY prediction: Further success at the Berlin World Championships in August could see Yamauchi shortlisted.

VICTORIA PENDLETON (27, English, Cycling)
British cycling's golden girl just keeps on winning.

An emotional Pendleton retained her world sprint title at the 2009 Track World Championships in Pruszkow.

No Olympic medallist from Athens in 2004 managed to take world gold the following year but the Queen of the track refused to submit to the formbook and pipped Dutchwoman Willy Kanis in a photo finish.

SPOTY prediction: Pendleton's incredible consistency keeps winning her deserved plaudits which may see her make the top ten.

MARK CAVENDISH (23, Isle of Man, Cycling)
The road-sprint king is set for another incredible year.

Cavendish won the Milan to San Remo Classic

In March Cavendish became only the second British rider to win the Milan to San Remo Classic since Tom Simpson's victory in 1964.

The Manx rider also won the second stage of the Three Days of De Panne race in Belgium.

Tour de France glory now awaits as the 23-year-olds reputation grows.

SPOTY prediction: After a blistering start to the year if Cavendish manages more Tour de France glory SPOTY could go to a cyclist for the second year running.

RYAN GIGGS (35, Wales, Football)
As the end of the 2008/2009 football season draws near Ryan Giggs finally picked up the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year award, 18 years after making his debut for Manchester United.

Giggs has rolled back the years this season and been instrumental in putting United on course for a third straight Premier League title and a Champions League semi-final appearance.

The Welshman has won an unprecedented 10 league titles, two European Cups, four FA Cups, two League Cups and a Fifa World Club Cup.

SPOTY prediction: If United lift the Premier League and Champions League, Giggs could have done no more to put his name in the SPOTY frame.

With plenty of sport still to come this year there is more than enough time for someone to burst into contention for SPOTY 2009.

Three boxers, Ricky Hatton, David Haye and Amir Khan, can make themselves into almost certain top 10 contenders for SPOTY if they win their upcoming fights this year.

Manchester's light-welterweight king Hatton fights Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Casino for the unofficial title of being the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.

Hatton is a great ambassador for British boxing and has huge support so a win in Vegas could be mirrored by a SPOTY victory.

Haye is going into the lion's cave to try and take away Wladimir Klitschko's IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles in Germany.

The Londoner has talked the talk but Wladimir is about 30lb heavier and four inches taller, can Haye walk the walk?

Khan's victory over lightweight legend Marco Antonio Barrera, via a fifth-round technical stoppage, showed the Bolton boxer is back on track.

The 2004 Olympic silver medallist will fight Andreas Kotelnik for the WBA light-welterweight championship in June and a world title win would put him in the SPOTY frame again.

England's cricketers, remember them? This summer they will be impossible to ignore as they go up against Australia on British soil looking to win the Ashes back.

Any number of players could be a surprise SPOTY contender but former winner Andrew Flintoff will probably head the list.

Kevin Pietersen and captain Andrew Strauss could get a mention while Stuart Broad could be a good outside bet.

Nicole Cooke has set her sights on defending her world road race title in Switzerland this September and if she does manage that it could be another top ten appearance for the 25-year-old Welsh rider.

CHRIS HOY (33, Scottish, Cycling)
Since winning three gold medals in Beijing Hoy's life has changed significantly.

The Scotsman was crowned 2008 Sports Personality of the year and was later honoured with a knighthood.

But on a sporting level 2009 has started badly for Sir Chris after a spectacular crash during the keirin final at the World Cup event in Denmark ruled him out of the Track World Championships.

SPOTY prediction: The real McHoy will struggle to make the top 10 this year due to injury, but he will be back.

LEWIS HAMILTON (24, English, Motorsport)
Hamilton's dramatic Formula 1 world championship win in Brazil saw him named in second place at SPOTY 2008, but this year has been a struggle for the McLaren man.

An investigation into the closing stages of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix continues to rumble on and cast a shadow over the McLaren team.

But Hamilton seems to have got his head down and started to make progress.

A fourth-placed finish in Bahrain, despite his car's below-par performance, suggests there could be more to come this season.

SPOTY prediction: Hamilton has the determination required of a champion but it will be tough for him to make a mark in the F1 World Championship or SPOTY this year.

REBECCA ADLINGTON (20, English, Swimming)
Double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Addlington is back in the pool and back winning races in 2009.

The 20-year-old was just 4.76 seconds outside the 800m world record she set at the Beijing at the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield.

And the Nottinghamshire swimmer is now fully focussed on this summer's World Championships in Rome.

SPOTY prediction: Adlington's World Championship performance will most likely determine her SPOTY position.

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