Sanchez stays on top

Spanish riders dominate the latest world rankings released by the UCI, following a fortnight of solid results for riders from that country.

Luis Leon Sanchez continues to lead the standings thanks to his consistent start to the year, with the likes of Oscar Freire winning Milan-San Remo, Joaquin Rodriguez taking out the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde placing in some of the early-season stage races.

Consequently, five Spaniards sit in the top 10 of the latest rankings, with world champion Cadel Evans maintaining momentum in fourth place and Rein Taaramae making his presence felt with an appearance in eighth, the Cofidis rider having previously been in 29th spot.

The big mover was Bernhard Eisel, who moved up 42 places to 15th following his win in Gent-Wevelgem. The Austrian sits just two points behind former teammate Greg Henderson, who coincidentally slipped four places to 14th. The man who took second behind Eisel last weekend, Sep Vanmarcke, was the standout name, his performance helping him break through into the top 20, having previously been unranked in the UCI standings.

Another rider to climb the rankings was Cervélo TestTeam's Xavier Tondo, who shot up to 11th courtesy of a stage win in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. A great performance in that same stage and indeed the race also helped Joaquin Rodriquez to his second in the rankings, the Katusha rider now sitting 80 points behind leader and countryman Sanchez.

It's no surprise therefore, that Spain tops the nations and teams rankings, sitting well ahead of Italy in the list of countries, with Australia still holding onto third place. Sanchez's Caisse d'Epargne maintains its grip as the best squad in the rankings, with HTC-Columbia and now Katusha sitting in second and third respectively.