Greipel, Australia top World Rankings

With his victory in the Tour Down Under, German André Greipel has assumed the early lead in the UCI's World Rankings. The HTC-Columbia sprinter's efforts also put his team at the top of the standings, while strong performances by the Australian riders pushed the host country to the top of the nations rankings.

The World Rankings are calculated based on finishes in all ProTour and Historic races on the UCI's calendar, and are intended to classify the world's best riders.

Last year, the individual ranking was won by Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, with fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde in second.

Valverde begins the season in 11th, while his teammate and TDU stage winner Luis Leon Sanchez sits in second overall, 33 points behind Greipel.

New Zealander Greg Henderson handed the new Sky team two victories last week, although the pre-TDU Cancer Council Helpline Classic was not included in the rankings. His stage victory and third place overall in the TDU lands him in third in the rankings.

Australia leads the way in the teams rankings thanks to strong performances by Robbie McEwen (Katusha), Luke Roberts (Milram) and Cadel Evans (BMC), who placed 4th-6th on the general classification in Adelaide.