TechPowered By

More tech

Contador ends season as world number one

By:
Richard Tyler
Published:
October 19, 2009, 16:05,
Updated:
October 19, 2009, 17:06
Edition:
First Edition Cycling News, Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador

  • Alberto Contador
  • Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) leads Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) on a descent.

view thumbnail gallery

Sánchez and Gilbert late movers, Spanish dominant in 2009

Alberto Contador has spearheaded a dominant season for Spanish cycling after finishing on top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) world rankings, announced on Monday. The Tour de France champion led a Spanish trio, with compatriots Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) taking second and third in the individual rankings, respectively. Contador's trade team Astana finished the season at the top of the team rankings, while Spain finished well clear of Italy as the top nation.

Contador's success this season helped him become the inaugural champion in the UCI's world ranking system. The new system was implemented as a replacement for the ProTour rankings, which due to disputes between race organisers and the UCI had last year, failed to incorporate results from any of the three Grand Tours, Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix or Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The revised UCI World Calendar ensured that the rankings announced today include results from those seven events.

Despite competing in just four of the 14 UCI World Calendar events in 2009, Contador's victories at the Tour de France and Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, and high finishes at Paris-Nice and the Dauphiné Libéré were enough to finish world number one. He finished with 527 points, 44 ahead of Vuelta a España winner Valverde (487 points) and 170 in front of Vuelta and Giro di Lombardia runner-up Sánchez (357 points).

Sánchez was one of the most prominent movers in the final world rankings. The Euskaltel rider moved from eighth to replace Andy Schleck in third place. Sánchez secured his position in the rankings with a second place finish in the final event on the UCI World Calendar, Saturday's Giro di Lombardia. The results of the Italian race also saw winner, Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto), catapulted into the world top-10, from 20th to ninth place.

Grand Tour winning teams Astana and Caisse d'Epargne finished first and second in the team rankings, with Columbia-HTC finishing third. Silence-Lotto moved from eighth to sixth, by virtue of Cadel Evans' third place finish at the Vuelta and Gilbert's Lombardia win.

The efforts of their riders throughout the season saw Spain finished almost 800 points clear of Italy in the team rankings. Australian and Germany retained their positions in third and fourth, respectively. Gilbert's Lombardia triumph was enough to see Belgium replace Russia in fifth place.

The following are the final UCI World Rankings for 2009:
 

UCI World Rankings - Individual
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 527 pts
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 483  
3 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 357  
4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 334  
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 333  
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia - HTC 322  
7 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 319  
8 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Team Columbia - HTC 304  
9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto 295  
10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 266  
11 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step 249  
12 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 235  
13 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 232  
14 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 229  
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 218  
16 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 217  
17 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 216  
18 Tyler Farrar (Usa) Garmin - Slipstream 212  
19 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 212  
20 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 211  
21 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 194  
22 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 194  
23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 180  
24 Rider currently serving suspension    
25 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervelo Test Team 176  
26 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 170  
27 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha 164  
28 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 157  
29 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 156  
30 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 154  
31 Lance Armstrong (Usa) Astana 150  
32 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 147  
33 Rider currently serving suspension    
34 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 139  
35 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Slipstream 137  
36 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 135  
37 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 134  
38 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 133  
39 Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Garmin - Slipstream 131  
40 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 125  
41 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank 117  
42 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 117  
43 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC 115  
44 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Astana 112  
45 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 110  
46 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step 104  
47 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank 103  
48 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lpr Brakes Farnese Vini 102  
49 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 98  
50 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank 98  
51 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 92  
52 Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 92  
53 André Greipel (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 91  
54 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 90  
55 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - HTC 90  
56 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 88  
57 Stuart O'grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 87  
58 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Saxo Bank 87  
59 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 85  
60 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 84  
61 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence-Lotto 83  
62 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step 80  
63 Levi Leipheimer (Usa) Astana 79  
64 Christian Vandevelde (Usa) Garmin - Slipstream 78  
65 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Ag2R La Mondiale 77  
66 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank 76  
67 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 76  
68 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Ag2R La Mondiale 74  
69 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Slipstream 74  
70 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 71  
71 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream 64  
72 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 64  
73 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 62  
74 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 61  
75 Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervelo Test Team 61  
76 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank 60  
77 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence-Lotto 60  
78 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 58  
79 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 58  
80 Anthony Roux (Fra) Française Des Jeux 56  
81 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 56  
82 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC 54  
83 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 54  
84 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step 52  
85 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 52  
86 Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram 51  
87 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank 50  
88 Mickael Delage (Fra) Silence-Lotto 50  
89 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence-Lotto 50  
90 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 50  
91 José Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 50  
92 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Française Des Jeux 50  
93 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quick Step 49  
94 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 48  
95 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 45  
96 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas 44  
97 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 42  
98 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 40  
99 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - HTC 40  
100 David Millar (Gbr) Garmin - Slipstream 39  
101 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 39  
102 Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 34  
103 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 33  
104 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 32  
105 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 32  
106 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 31  
107 Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 30  
108 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 30  
109 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 30  
110 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana 30  
111 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 29  
112 Greg Henderson (Nzl) Team Columbia - HTC 28  
113 Davide Vigano (Ita) Fuji-Servetto 26  
114 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 26  
115 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas 26  
116 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 26  
117 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 26  
118 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Skil-Shimano 25  
119 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank 22  
120 Enrico Rossi (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 22  
121 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Astana 22  
122 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 22  
123 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Andalucia Cajasur 21  
124 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank 21  
125 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux 20  
126 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 20  
127 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 20  
128 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 20  
129 Michael Albasini (Swi) Team Columbia - HTC 19  
130 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 19  
131 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 18  
132 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 18  
133 William Bonnet (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 18  
134 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 18  
135 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC 17  
136 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 17  
137 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 16  
138 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 16  
139 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana 16  
140 Manuel Vazquez Hueso (Spa) Contentpolis-Ampo 16  
141 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 16  
142 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team 16  
143 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana 15  
144 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Ag2R La Mondiale 15  
145 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC 15  
146 Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 14  
147 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 14  
148 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 14  
149 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française Des Jeux 13  
150 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - HTC 12  
151 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 12  
152 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto 11  
153 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 11  
154 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 11  
155 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne 11  
156 Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Katusha 11  
157 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team Columbia - HTC 11  
158 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Rabobank 10  
159 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank 10  
160 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux 10  
161 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 10  
162 Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 10  
163 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Liquigas 10  
164 David Herrero Llorente (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 10  
165 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 10  
166 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence-Lotto 10  
167 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 10  
168 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 10  
169 Robert Hunter (Rsa) Barloworld 10  
170 George Hincapie (Usa) Team Columbia - HTC 9  
171 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 9  
173 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas 9  
174 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step 8  
175 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 8  
176 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana 8  
177 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 8  
178 David Garcia Da Pena (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 8  
179 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Cervelo Test Team 8  
180 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 8  
181 Félix Rafael Cardenas Ravelo (Col) Barloworld 8  
182 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 7  
183 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française Des Jeux 7  
184 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram 7  
185 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux 6  
186 Rider currently serving suspension    
187 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 6  
188 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Skil-Shimano 6  
189 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto 6  
190 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank 6  
191 Julien El Fares (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 6  
192 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Team Katusha 6  
193 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 6  
194 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 6  
195 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Team Katusha 6  
196 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Columbia - HTC 6  
197 Julian Sanchez Pimienta (Spa) Contentpolis-Ampo 6  
198 Hayden Roulston (Nzl) Cervelo Test Team 6  
199 Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 6  
200 Mikael Cherel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 4  
201 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 4  
202 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 4  
203 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Garmin - Slipstream 4  
204 Roger Hammond (Gbr) Cervelo Test Team 4  
205 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Ag2R La Mondiale 4  
206 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 4  
207 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Astana 4  
208 Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 4  
209 Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 4  
210 Timothy Duggan (Usa) Garmin - Slipstream 4  
211 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 4  
212 Danny Pate (Usa) Garmin - Slipstream 4  
213 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha 4  
214 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 4  
215 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram 4  
216 Markus Zberg (Swi) Bmc Racing Team 4  
217 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C 4  
218 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 4  
219 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas 3  
220 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 3  
221 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 3  
222 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Team Katusha 3  
223 Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Cervelo Test Team 2  
224 Jesus Del Nero Montes (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 2  
225 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 2  
226 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 2  
227 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2  
228 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Silence-Lotto 2  
229 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 2  
230 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Liquigas 2  
231 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step 2  
232 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step 2  
233 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha 2  
234 Adam Hansen (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC 2  
235 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 2  
236 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana 2  
237 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 2  
238 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2  
239 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux 2  
240 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 2  
241 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank 2  
242 Baden Cooke (Aus) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 2  
243 Jens Mouris (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 2  
244 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2  
245 Francisco Jose Pacheco Torres (Spa) Contentpolis-Ampo 2  
246 Igor Abakoumov (Bel) Isd - Neri 2  
247 Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col) Barloworld 2  
248 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank 1  
249 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Fuji-Servetto 1  
250 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1  
251 Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervelo Test Team 1  
252 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1  
253 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1  
254 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti Pvc Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1  
255 Rider currently serving suspension    
256 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1  
257 Steve Chainel (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1  
258 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française Des Jeux 1  
259 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1  
260 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 1  
261 Robert Forster (Ger) Team Milram 1  
262 Alexei Markov (Rus) Team Katusha 1  
263 Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step 1  
264 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) Isd - Neri 1  
265 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1  
266 Matheus Pronk (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 1  
267 Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step 1  
UCI World Rankings - Teams
1 Astana 1100 pts
2 Caisse d'Epargne 1048  
3 Team Columbia - HTC 957  
4 Team Saxo Bank 946  
5 Liquigas 923  
6 Silence-Lotto 821  
7 Cervelo Test Team 804  
8 Quick Step 760  
9 Rabobank 707  
10 Team Katusha 637  
11 Garmin - Slipstream 632  
12 Euskaltel - Euskadi 631  
13 Lampre - N.G.C 465  
14 Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 379  
15 Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo 249  
16 Française Des Jeux 238  
17 Ag2R La Mondiale 206  
18 Team Milram 182  
19 Bbox Bouygues Telecom 170  
20 Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 166  
21 Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 158  
22 Xacobeo Galicia 128  
23 Fuji-Servetto 114  
24 Lpr Brakes Farnese Vini 102  
25 Agritubel 34  
26 Skil-Shimano 33  
27 Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce 26  
28 Contentpolis-Ampo 24  
29 Andalucia Cajasur 21  
30 Barloworld 20  
31 Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 11  
32 Landbouwkrediet - Colnago 4  
33 Bmc Racing Team 4  
34 ISD - Neri 3  
UCI World Rankings - Nations
1 Spain 1756 pts
2 Italy 984  
3 Australia 960  
4 Germany 753  
5 Belgium 675  
6 Russian Federation 660  
7 Luxembourg 563  
8 Netherlands 544  
9 Norway 538  
10 United States of America 528  
11 Great Britain 489  
12 France 454  
13 Czech Republic 330  
14 Denmark 322  
15 Switzerland 285  
16 Ireland 213  
17 Belarus 126  
18 Slovenia 119  
19 Sweden 105  
20 Estonia 98  
21 Colombia 91  
22 Kazakhstan 79  
23 Canada 75  
24 Slovakia 51  
25 Poland 44  
26 New Zealand 34  
27 Ukraine 21  
28 Lithuania 16  
29 Austria 12  
30 Finland 10  
31 South Africa 10  
32 Brazil 2  
33 Japan 2  
34 Argentina 2  

 

Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed

Related articles

Related riders

Related teams