Strong Tour Down Under performances determine early leaders
Performing well on home soil, Australian riders and the nation have taken an early lead in the UCI WorldTour rankings after the Santos Tour Down Under.
Race winner Simon Gerrans unsurprisingly tops the individual list, with his overall and stage placings giving him a total of 106 WorldTour points, 19 more than runner-up and Old Willunga Hill stage winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
The top ten of the Santos Tour Down Under is broadly similar to the ten best riders in the WorldTour rankings, although Rohan Dennis (UniSA – Australia), who was fifth in the race, does not figure as he is not part of a ProTeam.
Tiago Machado (RadioShack Nissan), Michael Rogers (Sky Procycling), Jan Bakelants (RadioShack Nissan), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) and Javier Moreno (Movistar) fill places three through to seven.
Andre Greipel didn’t figure in the final overall standings of the race, but is eighth in the WorldTour rankings thanks for the three stages he picked up. Michael Matthews was ninth in both the Santos Tour Down Under and the new rankings, while sprinters Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ BigMat), Oscar Freire (Katusha), Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) and Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) slot in between tenth and thirteenth due to their high placings on stages.
The performances by Gerrans, Rogers, Matthews, Renshaw and Robbie McEwen, who is nineteenth on the individual list, combine to put Australia well clear at the top of the nations standings. It has 188 points, with Spain on 114 and Portugal on 72.
RadioShack Nissan is best of the teams with 115 points, thanks to the combined totals of Machado, Bakelants and Daniele Bennati.
Valverde’s Movistar and Gerran’s GreenEdge are next, with Sky Procycling and Rabobank fourth and fifth.
The next WorldTour event is Paris-Nice in March.
UCI WorldTour rankings, 22 Jan 2012:
1, GERRANS Simon (AUS) GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM (GEC) 106
2, VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro (ESP) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 87
3, MACHADO Tiago (POR) RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RSH) 72
4, ROGERS Michael (AUS) SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 61
5, BAKELANTS Jan (BEL) RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RSH) 40
6, BOASSON HAGEN Edvald (NOR) SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 34
7, MORENO BAZAN Javier (ESP) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 20
8, GREIPEL André (GER ) LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 18
9, MATTHEWS Michael (AUS) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 15
10, HUTAROVICH Yauheni (BLR) FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 7
11, FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar (ESP) KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 6
12, PETACCHI Alessandro (ITA) LAMPRE – ISD (LAM) 6
13, RENSHAW Mark (AUS) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 5
14, VORGANOV Eduard (RUS) KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 4
15, CIOLEK Gerald (GER ) OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 4
16, BENNATI Daniele (ITA) RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RSH) 3
17, ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin (ESP) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 1
18, SABATINI Fabio (ITA) LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 1
19, MCEWEN Robbie (AUS) GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM (GEC) 1
Nations:
1, AUSTRALIA (AUS ) 188
2, SPAIN (ESP ) 114
3, PORTUGAL (POR ) 72
4, BELGIUM (BEL ) 40
5, NORWAY (NOR ) 34
6, GERMANY (GER ) 22
7, ITALY (ITA ) 10
8, BELARUS (BLR ) 7
9, RUSSIA (RUS ) 4
Teams:
1, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RSH) (LUX ) 115
2, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) (ESP ) 108
3, GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM (GEC) (AUS ) 107
4, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) (GBR ) 95
5, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) (NED ) 20
6, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) (BEL ) 18
7, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) (RUS ) 10
8, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) (FRA ) 7
9, LAMPRE – ISD (LAM) (ITA ) 6
10, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) (BEL ) 4
11, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) (ITA ) 1
UCI WorldTour 2012 events:
17 Jan-22 Jan,Tour Down Under (Australia)
4 Mar-11 Mar, Paris – Nice (France)
7 Mar-13 Mar, Tirreno-Adriatico ( Italy)
17 Mar, Milano-Sanremo (Italy)
19 Mar-25 Mar, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spain)
23 Mar, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke ( Belgium)
25 Mar, Gent – Wevelgem (Belgium)
1 Apr, Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres (Belgium)
2 Apr-07 Apr, Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco (Spain)
8 Apr, Paris – Roubaix (France)
15 Apr, Amstel Gold Race (Netherlands)
18 Apr, La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium)
22 Apr, Liège – Bastogne – Liège (Belgium)
24 Apr-29 Apr, Tour de Romandie (Switzerland)
5 May-27 May, Giro d’Italia (Italy)
3 Jun-10 Jun, Critérium du Dauphiné (France)
9 Jun-17 Jun, Tour de Suisse (Switzerland)
30 Jun-22 Jul, Tour de France (France)
10 Jul-16 Jul, Tour de Pologne (Poland)
6 Aug-12 Aug, Eneco Tour (Belgium/Netherlands)
14 Aug, Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian (Spain)
18 Aug-09 Sep, Vuelta a España (Spain)
19 Aug, Vattenfall Cyclassics ( Germany)
26 Aug, GP Ouest France – Plouay (France)
7 Sep, Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada)
9 Sep, Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada)
29 Sep, Il Lombardia (Italy)
10 Oct-14 Oct, Tour of Beijing (China)