Alejandro Valverde will be top-ranked rider on the UCI WorldTour standings for a second year running after he finished seventh place overall at the Vuelta a Espana. Valverde leads compatriot Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha), 615 points to 474 and with Il Lombardia the sole remaining WorldTour race on the calendar in 2015 in which riders can pick up individual points.With 100 for the winner at the Italian monument, the Movistar rider has an unassailable lead.
Valverde took over the standings from Team Sky's Riche Porte when he won Liège–Bastogne–Liège in April with third overall at the Tour de France and Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian helping the 35-year-old further extend his lead.
Rodríguez's second place overall and 130 WorldTour points at the Vuelta lifted the 36-year-old from seventh to second on the overall standings. Vuelta overall winner Fabio Aru (Astana) was another big move inside the top ten as he jumped from 14th to fifth with 448 points. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) also lifted himself higher up the standings, moving from fifth to third with 457 points to his name.
Third place for Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) at the GP de Québec was good enough for 50 points but the Norwegian slips from second to fourth on 453 points. The winner of the Canadian one-day race, Rigoberto Urán, sits 12th on the standings after his first road success in 2015 on 301 points.
Tim Wellen's solo victory at the GP de Montréal saw the Lotto Soudal rider move up from 35th to 23rd.
With Valverde and Rodriguez top of the individual standings, Spain has a huge 764 point lead over Colombia who have accumulated 1069 points across the season. Since 2009, Spain has been the top ranked nation in all but one year when Italy took the honours in 2010. Great Britain (1041) and Italy are the only nations to have crossed the 1000 point threshold so far with Belgium the fifth best on 905.
The team standings look likely to be decided on the final day of racing in October with Movistar (1526) and Katusha (1419) the clear favourites for the title. Movistar have been the best team in the last two seasons but with 200 points on offer at the World Championships in the team time trial event, Team Sky (1254) could find themselves challenging for the top gong. At the bottom end of the team standings, IAM Cycling have collected just 189 points in its first season at the top level of the sport while Cannondale-Garmin (340) and FDJ (369) also languish near the bottom.
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