Carlos Betancur tied at top of WorldTour rankings

In winning Paris-Nice overall, Carlos Betancur not only became the first Colombian but the first rider under the guidance of Vincent Lavenu to claim victory at the 'Race to the Sun' which elevated him to the top of UCI WorldTour rankings. Betancur's victory with Ag2r-La Mondiale was also the first win by a French team in 23 years, the last being Tony Rominger's victory for Toshiba back in 1991 - the year after Betancur, 24, was born.

Betancur won two stages at the second WorldTour race of the season and wore the leader's jersey for four days to pick up 114 points at the eight-day race.

As one of the emerging Colombian general classification riders, Betancur was quick to thank his teammates for their support as the leader of the French team.

"Wear the yellow jersey during four days is fantastic. The team demonstrated this week that it is a great team and this victory is very important for us. My teammates did a huge work to support me and this evening, I'm extremely happy. I'm also proud to show Colombian cycling at the highest level."

Betancur is currently tied on 114 points with Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) at the top of the individual WorldTour rankings with world champion Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) in third with 88 points but again equal on points - with Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team).

Diego Ulissi is fifth with 83 points after his third place overall at the Tour Down Under which sees his Lampre-Merida team take a clear lead in the team classification on 171 points.

Orica-GreenEdge surrendered their lead to the Italian team while Ag2r are the other squad to make a major gain in the rankings as they shot up from 11th to third overall with 115 points. For a team which has struggled to bank WorldTour points, Ag2r have given themselves a strong platform to build upon for the rest of the 2014 season.

In the nation rankings, Australia maintain their hold on top spot with 334 points but again thanks to Betancur, Colombia now sit in second place with 114 points while in third, it is France on 91 points thanks to Arthur Vichot's (FDJ) third place overall at Paris-Nice.

With Tirreno-Adriatico due to finish on March 16, the WorldTour rankings are set for another reshuffle before the major main one-day races of the Spring starting with Milan-San Remo.

WorldTour rankings