Van Avermaet and Contador climb UCI World Ranking

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The Olympic Games road race has shaken up the men's UCI World Ranking, with Greg Van Avermaet making strides up the updated standings as his gold medal propels him from seventh to fourth.

The Belgian was already in a strong position after one of his finest seasons to date, with wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Tirreno-Adriatico followed in July by a stage win and stint in the maillot jaune at the Tour de France.

Alberto Contador made one step up, from eighth to seventh, thanks to his overall victory at the Vuelta a Burgos, but it was Rio that generated the most movement. Jakob Fuglsang's silver medal made him the biggest mover, leaping from 74th to 35th, while bronze medallist Rafal Majka is now just outside the top 20 having been 47th before the weekend. Julian Alaphilippe was fourth in Rio and moved up from 20th to 14th, while fifth-placed Joaquim Rodríguez climbed from 30th to 17th. 

The top three of Peter Sagan, Chris Froome, and Alejandro Valverde, however, stands firm, with the world champion unshakeable at the top despite not racing since the Tour de France. With fewer points on offer for the Olympic time trial than the road race, there's no chance that Froome, one of the major favourites for Wednesday, will able to overhaul Sagan. 

France remain top of the nation standings, but Spain and Belgium have closed the gap, while Great Britain leapfrog Italy into fourth.  

UCI World Ranking as of 07/08/2016