Porte new leader of WorldTour after Paris-Nice victory

Sky Procycling’s second victory in as many years in Paris-Nice, thanks to Australia's Richie Porte, sees the British team return to the number one spot for the UCI WorldTour teams, with Porte crowned the new leader of the individual ranking.

Australia’s first ever victory in the "Course au Soleil" - the Race to the Sun - came after Porte seized the overall lead on the race’s one mountain summit finish at the Montagne de Lure on Friday. He then followed the example of Sky teammate Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Paris-Nice champion, by taking the final time trial at Paris-Nice, reinforcing his now definitive advantage in the overall classification.

Porte’s win and two stage victories enables him to become the new UCI WorldTour leader, albeit by a margin of just two points over the previous number one, Santos Tour Down Under champion Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team). Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp), second in the final time trial at Paris-Nice and second overall after Porte ousted him from the Paris-Nice lead on Friday, is third in the UCI WorldTour’s classification.

The WorldTour individual rankings will surely undergo another major change at the end of Tirreno-Adriatico, the third WorldTour event of the 2013 season, which concludes on Tuesday. Only then will a clear series of early front runners emerge.

One team that seems to be continuing exactly where it left off in 2012 is Team Sky. Classified number one in the world at the end of last season, the British team is back in the top spot after just two races.

That Sky has amassed 192 points so early in the year is an indication that the team has hit the ground running, and they are already 35 points clear of closest pursuers and former leaders, Blanco Pro Cycling Team.

A familiar name - Spain - is once again at the top of the nations classification, just as it was for most of 2012. However, the margin between Spain and second-placed Netherlands of just seven points by no means a secure distance. The United States had two riders finish in the top four at Paris-Nice, Andrew Talansky, 2nd, and Tejay van Garderen (BMC), 4th, and as a result vaults from 12th to third on the nations standings. France moves up from 10th to fourth on the nations standings largely based on the results of Jean-Christophe Péraud (AG2R La Mondiale) and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at Paris-Nice.

After Tirreno-Adriatico provides the next big shift in the classification on Tuesday, the WorldTour’s first one-day race of 2013, Milano-Sanremo, sees the sprinters and Classics specialists move to the fore ahead of the stage race specialists like Porte and Talansky. Victory for Marcel Kittel (Team Argos-Shimano) in one of the early sprints of Paris-Nice bodes well for the German if Italy’s top Classic comes down to a bunch gallop. Meanwhile Sylvain Chavanel’s win on the Promenade des Anglais on the closing weekend of Paris-Nice could be a good omen for the veteran Frenchman when he reaches the Via Roma in Sanremo - just a few kilometres further east up the coastline - next Sunday.

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WorldTour - Individuals
1Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling113pts
2Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team111Row 1 - Cell 3
3Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp92Row 2 - Cell 3
4Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team86Row 3 - Cell 3
5Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling77Row 4 - Cell 3
6Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale71Row 5 - Cell 3
7Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team62Row 6 - Cell 3
8Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi61Row 7 - Cell 3
9Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step60Row 8 - Cell 3
10Ben Hermans (Bel) RadioShack Leopard52Row 9 - Cell 3
11Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team41Row 10 - Cell 3
12Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha40Row 11 - Cell 3
13Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida32Row 12 - Cell 3
14Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi32Row 13 - Cell 3
15Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team22Row 14 - Cell 3
16Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida20Row 15 - Cell 3
17André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol18Row 16 - Cell 3
18Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard11Row 17 - Cell 3
19Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard10Row 18 - Cell 3
20Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step6Row 19 - Cell 3
21Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team6Row 20 - Cell 3
22Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge6Row 21 - Cell 3
23Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling6Row 22 - Cell 3
24Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano6Row 23 - Cell 3
25Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge6Row 24 - Cell 3
26Mark Renshaw (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team6Row 25 - Cell 3
27Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ6Row 26 - Cell 3
28Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge5Row 27 - Cell 3
29Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) FDJ4Row 28 - Cell 3
30Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha4Row 29 - Cell 3
31Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team4Row 30 - Cell 3
32Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Merida4Row 31 - Cell 3
33Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ4Row 32 - Cell 3
34Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida4Row 33 - Cell 3
35Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team2Row 34 - Cell 3
36Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team2Row 35 - Cell 3
37Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale2Row 36 - Cell 3
38Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge2Row 37 - Cell 3
39Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling2Row 38 - Cell 3
40Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff2Row 39 - Cell 3
41David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling1Row 40 - Cell 3
42Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team1Row 41 - Cell 3
43Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard1Row 42 - Cell 3
44Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team1Row 43 - Cell 3
45Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol1Row 44 - Cell 3
46Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ1Row 45 - Cell 3
47Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team1Row 46 - Cell 3
48Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team1Row 47 - Cell 3
49Steele Von Hoff (Aus) Garmin-Sharp1Row 48 - Cell 3
50Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Belisol1Row 49 - Cell 3
51Andrew Fenn (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step1Row 50 - Cell 3
52Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp1Row 51 - Cell 3
53Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team1Row 52 - Cell 3
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World Tour - Teams
1Sky Procycling193pts
2Blanco Pro Cycling Team158Row 1 - Cell 3
3Garmin-Sharp94Row 2 - Cell 3
4Euskaltel-Euskadi93Row 3 - Cell 3
5Movistar Team91Row 4 - Cell 3
6RadioShack Leopard74Row 5 - Cell 3
7Ag2R La Mondiale73Row 6 - Cell 3
8BMC Racing Team68Row 7 - Cell 3
9Omega Pharma-Quick Step67Row 8 - Cell 3
10Lampre-Merida60Row 9 - Cell 3
11Katusha44Row 10 - Cell 3
12Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team23Row 11 - Cell 3
13Lotto Belisol20Row 12 - Cell 3
14Orica-GreenEdge19Row 13 - Cell 3
15FDJ15Row 14 - Cell 3
16Astana Pro Team7Row 15 - Cell 3
17Cannondale Pro Cycling6Row 16 - Cell 3
18Team Argos-Shimano6Row 17 - Cell 3
19Team Saxo-Tinkoff2Row 18 - Cell 3
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WorldTour - Nations
1Spain182pts
2Netherlands175Row 1 - Cell 3
3United States of America155Row 2 - Cell 3
4France143Row 3 - Cell 3
5Australia132Row 4 - Cell 3
6Great Britain78Row 5 - Cell 3
7Italy66Row 6 - Cell 3
8Belgium60Row 7 - Cell 3
9Slovenia41Row 8 - Cell 3
10Germany34Row 9 - Cell 3
11Portugal11Row 10 - Cell 3
12Slovakia6Row 11 - Cell 3
13Switzerland6Row 12 - Cell 3
14Finland4Row 13 - Cell 3
15Russian Federation4Row 14 - Cell 3
16Kazakhstan4Row 15 - Cell 3
17Colombia2Row 16 - Cell 3
18Norway2Row 17 - Cell 3

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