Rodriguez poised to be world number one

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Later today the UCI will release its latest world rankings following the Vuelta a España but Joaquin Rodriguez has already done the maths and is happy with the outcome. "With the results of the Vuelta, I'm gonna be the world's number one rider and I don't think that will change by the end of the cycling season," Rodriguez told Cyclingnews at the start of the Vuelta's last stage in San Sebastian de los Reyes.

The Katusha rider has based his prediction on the fact that "we're close to the end of the season and Alberto Contador won't race anymore [this year]."

In the current official rankings, released on September 13 after the Canadian ProTour races, Contador was leading Rodriguez by 54 points but the latter's fourth place at the Vuelta allocates 90 points, with additional points on offer for taking a top four spot in stages of the race.

With more than 500 points, Rodriguez will be out of reach for Cadel Evans, who is currently third with 390 points, as the only race remaining on the world ranking calendar after the Vuelta is the Tour of Lombardy, whose winner will score 100 points. The world championship road race and Paris-Tours aren't part of the world calendar.

"This is a great result for me," said Rodriguez. "It shows how good I've been this year." His consistency can be seen in his haul of results in 2010: sixth at Paris-Nice, he won the Volta a Catalunya on home soil, the GP Miguel Indurain and stage five of the Vuelta ai Pais Vasco (where he finished third overall).

He also finished second to Evans at the Flèche Wallonne, ninth at the Tour de Suisse, eighth in the Tour de France with a win on stage 12 to Mende and fifth at the Clasica San Sebastian prior to riding the Vuelta a España very aggressively.

He led the world rankings after the Ardennes classics, taking the top spot from countryman Luis Leon Sanchez until Alberto Contador passed him after the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"This was my first year with Katusha," said the former ONCE, Saunier Duval and Caisse d'Epargne rider. "I think next year we'll know how to work with each other even better." Rodriguez's ultimate goal is to win a Grand Tour. "And my dream is to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège," added the 31-year-old.

World rankings as of September 20, 2010