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Valverde tops UCI world rankings

By:
Cycling News
Published:
May 3, 2010, 14:55,
Updated:
May 3, 2010, 14:49
Edition:
First Edition Cycling News, Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) celebrates as Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi) punches the air in anguish

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) celebrates as Igor Antón (Euskaltel-Euskadi) punches the air in anguish

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Caisse d'Epargne, Spain also continue on top

Alejandro Valverde has moved atop the World Classification of the International Cycling Union (UCI). The controversial Caisse d'Epargne rider used his overall victory in the Tour de Romandie to claim the lead in the world rankings.

Valverde has 392 points, which moved him up from second place. Former leader Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) dropped to second place. There were no other changes in the top ten.

Valverde called the ranking “an honour and a dream for any rider.” He said that he had been winning points since the Tour Down Under in Australia, “and to become the new number one before the major tours begin shows how regular I have been all through the first four months of the season.

“Moreover my team is leading the teams classification and that is also very important. I am surrounded with very good riders and I can rely on the team at any moment in any race.”

Valverde has been banned from riding in Italy for two years, and faces a possible worldwide ban by the UCI. That decision is pending a further ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is expected momentarily.

The biggest leaps up the rankings were Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia) from 46th to 17th, and Lampre's Simon Spilak entering the rankings at 23rd.

Thanks to the success of Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez, Caisse d'Epargne still leads the UCI World Ranking for teams. The Spanish squad has a total of 620 points, 120 more than second placed Katusha, who has 500 points. The Astana team is third with 434 points thank to the success of team leaders Alberto Contador and Alexandre Vinokourov. HTC - Columbia moved up from eighth to fifth place.

Valverde's ranking also helped Spain stay as the number one nation. Belgium, Australia, Italy and the United States rounded out the top five with no changes this week.

The world rankings are usually published Monday afternoons, but the next one will not appear until May 31, after the Giro d'Italia.

UCI World Rankings - Individuals
1 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 392 pts
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 294  
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha 268  
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 246  
5 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 222  
6 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 216  
7 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 200  
8 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 161  
9 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack 144  
10 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam 120  
11 André Greipel (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 119  
12 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana 117  
13 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 112  
14 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo 110  
15 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 109  
16 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions 103  
17 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 103  
18 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 100  
19 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 100  
20 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 100  
21 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam 92  
22 Roger Hammond (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam 90  
23 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini 88  
24 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 86  
25 Greg Henderson (NZl) Sky Professional Cycling Team 85  
26 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 85  
27 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia 83  
28 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha 82  
29 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 80  
30 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 78  
31 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 78  
32 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 72  
33 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 72  
34 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Professional Cycling Team 71  
35 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 68  
36 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 66  
37 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 63  
38 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox 62  
39 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 60  
40 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Omega Pharma-Lotto 60  
41 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 58  
42 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions 57  
43 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 57  
44 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana 56  
45 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram 54  
46 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 52  
47 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 52  
48 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 52  
49 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack 50  
50 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 46  
51 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 44  
52 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet 40  
53 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo 36  
54 Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions 34  
55 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 32  
56 Tiago Machado (Por) Team Radioshack 31  
57 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 30  
58 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha 30  
59 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 30  
60 Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 30  
61 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox 30  
62 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 24  
63 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 21  
64 Leif Hoste (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 20  
65 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 16  
66 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-Farnese Vini 14  
67 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions 13  
68 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank 12  
69 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia 12  
70 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank 11  
71 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 10  
72 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam 10  
73 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 10  
74 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10  
75 William Bonnet (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom 10  
76 Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram 8  
77 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 7  
78 Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Footon-Servetto 7  
79 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 7  
80 Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team 6  
81 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 6  
82 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 6  
83 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 6  
84 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 6  
85 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 6  
86 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 6  
87 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Quick Step 6  
88 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 6  
89 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack 6  
90 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team 6  
91 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom 5  
92 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux 5  
93 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 5  
94 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 5  
95 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Team Radioshack 5  
96 Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 4  
97 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step 4  
98 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Team HTC - Columbia 4  
99 Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 4  
100 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 4  
101 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank 4  
102 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 4  
103 Robert Förster (Ger) Team Milram 4  
104 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini 4  
105 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3  
106 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française Des Jeux 2  
107 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française Des Jeux 2  
108 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 2  
109 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia 2  
110 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Farnese Vini 2  
111 Peter Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia 2  
112 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank 2  
113 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2  
114 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1  
115 Fabio Felline (Ita) Footon-Servetto 1  
116 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha 1  
117 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 1  
118 Michael Albasini (Swi) Team HTC - Columbia 1  
119 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Team Milram 1  
120 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 1  
121 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française Des Jeux 1  
122 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française Des Jeux 1  
123 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1  
124 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank 1  
125 Davide Vigano (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team 1  
126 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 1  
127 Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 1  
128 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 1  
UCI World Rankings - Teams
1 Caisse d'Epargne 620 pts
2 Team Katusha 500  
3 Astana 434  
4 Omega Pharma-Lotto 419  
5 Team HTC - Columbia 383  
6 Team Saxo Bank 334  
7 BMC Racing Team 333  
8 Cervélo TestTeam 312  
9 Rabobank 258  
10 Liquigas-Doimo 255  
11 Lampre-Farnese Vini 248  
12 Euskaltel - Euskadi 238  
13 Team Radioshack 237  
14 Quick Step 226  
15 Garmin - Transitions 207  
16 Sky Professional Cycling Team 169  
17 Androni Giocattoli 118  
18 Acqua & Sapone 116  
19 Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 113  
20 Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 110  
21 Colnago - CSF Inox 93  
22 Team Milram 76  
23 AG2R La Mondiale 68  
24 Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 60  
25 Française Des Jeux 45  
26 Landbouwkrediet 40  
27 BBox Bouygues Telecom 15  
28 Footon-Servetto 8  
29 Saur - Sojasun 6  
UCI World Rankings - Nations
1 Spain 1155 pts
2 Belgium 714  
3 Australia 477  
4 Italy 401  
5 United States 287  
6 Russia 242  
7 Kazakhstan 217  
8 Switzerland 214  
9 Germany 199  
10 Slovenia 142  
11 Norway 126  
12 France 119  
13 Czech Republic 110  
14 Netherlands 110  
15 Canada 103  
16 Great Britain 102  
17 Estonia 100  
18 New Zealand 89  
19 Austria 83  
20 Luxembourg 70  
21 Ireland 57  
22 Slovakia 38  
23 Portugal 38  
24 South Africa 13  
25 Argentina 13  
26 Denmark 12  
27 Belarus 1  
28 Colombia 1  

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