Hmmm - I had the same issue - Decided to get a little creative.
So instead of showing the default noavatar - I decided to add this:
Yeahyeahyeah - The graphic is a bit cheesy and needs some work LOL - But it fixes the issue quite nicely in my opinion. It's better really - to have a CONGRATULATIONS image after the win...
Anyway - just a piece of advice - Perhaps you can make your own noavatar.gif graphic
Jacquii.