Boonen takes over WorldTour rankings
Liquigas leads team classification, Belgium claims top spot in nations ranking
Following his impressive third victory of the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) has taken over the leadership in the WorldTour rankings. Just nine days after he took a record breaking fifth win in the E-3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke, and a week after his third victory in Gent-Wevelgem, the Belgian gathered enough points to relegate Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) to second.
Seventh in the UCI's top league after the E-3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke and fourth after Gent-Wevelgem, Boonen's score increased to 266 points with his Tour of Flanders victory, while Gerrans, who held the lead first after winning the Tour Down Under and again after his fine victory in Milano-San Remo, remained at 210. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) dropped from second to third with 182 points.
However, Nibali's advantage over his talented young teammate Peter Sagan, a hugely impressive fifth in Sunday's race, amounts only to three points. Sagan's latest top result enables him to move up the ranks from sixth to fourth, with 179 points.
Between Nibali's score and the upcoming Sagan, the Italian Liquigas-Cannondale squad has also gained enough points to oust British Sky ProCycling from the top spot of the teams ranking. Boonen's Omega Pharma-QuickStep team is now third overall, three places higher than a week ago. Two former leaders of the ranking, GreenEdge and RadioShack-Nissan have dropped to fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
However, the difference between Liquigas-Cannondale and fifth placed RadioShack-Nissan is a mere 61 points, making the battle for supremacy in the ranking undecided. But the teams will not have to wait long to see if they can amass more points: the Vuelta al País Vasco stage race, the next round of the UCI WorldTour, begins on April 2nd.
In the nations classification, Belgium has soared to top spot ahead of long-standing leaders Spain, followed by Italy. However, the Belgians' advantage is minimal - just six points, 467 to Spain's 461. Thanks to Alessandro Ballan's podium spot in Flanders, Italy has a comfortable margin of 119 over fourth-placed Australia. This means the battle for the nations ranking looks increasingly like a three-way duel.
1 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 266 | pts |
2 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 210 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 182 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 179 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 167 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team | 140 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Michael Albasini (Swi) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 112 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling | 112 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 96 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 92 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 88 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | 86 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | 84 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team | 78 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan | 72 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 70 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | 70 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling | 63 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team | 62 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 61 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling | 61 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team | 60 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 60 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Barracuda | 60 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 51 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 51 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | 50 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team | 46 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
29 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 44 | Row 28 - Cell 3 |
30 | Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team | 41 | Row 29 - Cell 3 |
31 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 40 | Row 30 - Cell 3 |
32 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 40 | Row 31 - Cell 3 |
33 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan | 40 | Row 32 - Cell 3 |
34 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan | 33 | Row 33 - Cell 3 |
35 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | 31 | Row 34 - Cell 3 |
36 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 31 | Row 35 - Cell 3 |
37 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team | 30 | Row 36 - Cell 3 |
38 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan | 30 | Row 37 - Cell 3 |
39 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 24 | Row 38 - Cell 3 |
40 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 22 | Row 39 - Cell 3 |
41 | Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 21 | Row 40 - Cell 3 |
42 | Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team | 20 | Row 41 - Cell 3 |
43 | Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 20 | Row 42 - Cell 3 |
44 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 15 | Row 43 - Cell 3 |
45 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | 15 | Row 44 - Cell 3 |
46 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 14 | Row 45 - Cell 3 |
47 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 14 | Row 46 - Cell 3 |
48 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 10 | Row 47 - Cell 3 |
49 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 10 | Row 48 - Cell 3 |
50 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 10 | Row 49 - Cell 3 |
51 | Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 8 | Row 50 - Cell 3 |
52 | Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat | 7 | Row 51 - Cell 3 |
53 | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | 7 | Row 52 - Cell 3 |
54 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 7 | Row 53 - Cell 3 |
55 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 6 | Row 54 - Cell 3 |
56 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 6 | Row 55 - Cell 3 |
57 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 6 | Row 56 - Cell 3 |
58 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 6 | Row 57 - Cell 3 |
59 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 6 | Row 58 - Cell 3 |
60 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | 5 | Row 59 - Cell 3 |
61 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | 5 | Row 60 - Cell 3 |
62 | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD | 5 | Row 61 - Cell 3 |
63 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 5 | Row 62 - Cell 3 |
64 | Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Movistar Team | 4 | Row 63 - Cell 3 |
65 | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team | 4 | Row 64 - Cell 3 |
66 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team | 4 | Row 65 - Cell 3 |
67 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 4 | Row 66 - Cell 3 |
68 | Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team | 4 | Row 67 - Cell 3 |
69 | Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 4 | Row 68 - Cell 3 |
70 | Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 4 | Row 69 - Cell 3 |
71 | Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 4 | Row 70 - Cell 3 |
72 | Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 4 | Row 71 - Cell 3 |
73 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | 3 | Row 72 - Cell 3 |
74 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 3 | Row 73 - Cell 3 |
75 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 2 | Row 74 - Cell 3 |
76 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team | 2 | Row 75 - Cell 3 |
77 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda | 2 | Row 76 - Cell 3 |
78 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 2 | Row 77 - Cell 3 |
79 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 2 | Row 78 - Cell 3 |
80 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1 | Row 79 - Cell 3 |
81 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | 1 | Row 80 - Cell 3 |
82 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 1 | Row 81 - Cell 3 |
83 | Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 1 | Row 82 - Cell 3 |
84 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | 1 | Row 83 - Cell 3 |
85 | Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack-Nissan | 1 | Row 84 - Cell 3 |
86 | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | 1 | Row 85 - Cell 3 |
87 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda | 1 | Row 86 - Cell 3 |
88 | Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank | 1 | Row 87 - Cell 3 |
89 | Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1 | Row 88 - Cell 3 |
90 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank | 1 | Row 89 - Cell 3 |
91 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1 | Row 90 - Cell 3 |
92 | Robbie McEwen (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 1 | Row 91 - Cell 3 |
1 | Belgium | 467 | pts |
2 | Spain | 461 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Italy | 416 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | Australia | 297 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | Netherlands | 204 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Switzerland | 198 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | Slovakia | 179 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | United States | 141 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Great Britain | 118 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | France | 98 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Czech Republic | 78 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Slovenia | 73 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Portugal | 72 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Norway | 71 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Colombia | 63 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | Denmark | 60 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | Ireland | 60 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Austria | 51 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
19 | Croatia | 41 | Row 18 - Cell 3 |
20 | Germany | 30 | Row 19 - Cell 3 |
21 | Russia | 8 | Row 20 - Cell 3 |
22 | Poland | 8 | Row 21 - Cell 3 |
23 | Belarus | 7 | Row 22 - Cell 3 |
24 | Sweden | 6 | Row 23 - Cell 3 |
25 | Canada | 2 | Row 24 - Cell 3 |
26 | New Zealand | 1 | Row 25 - Cell 3 |
27 | Luxembourg | 1 | Row 26 - Cell 3 |
28 | Argentina | 1 | Row 27 - Cell 3 |
1 | Liquigas-Cannondale | 376 | pts |
2 | Sky Procycling | 356 | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
3 | Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 349 | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
4 | GreenEdge Cycling Team | 333 | Row 3 - Cell 3 |
5 | RadioShack-Nissan | 315 | Row 4 - Cell 3 |
6 | Katusha Team | 282 | Row 5 - Cell 3 |
7 | BMC Racing Team | 208 | Row 6 - Cell 3 |
8 | Movistar Team | 198 | Row 7 - Cell 3 |
9 | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 198 | Row 8 - Cell 3 |
10 | Astana Pro Team | 130 | Row 9 - Cell 3 |
11 | Lotto Belisol Team | 101 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
12 | Garmin - Barracuda | 97 | Row 11 - Cell 3 |
13 | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 88 | Row 12 - Cell 3 |
14 | Rabobank Cycling Team | 87 | Row 13 - Cell 3 |
15 | Lampre - ISD | 86 | Row 14 - Cell 3 |
16 | AG2R La Mondiale | 76 | Row 15 - Cell 3 |
17 | FDJ-Big Mat | 71 | Row 16 - Cell 3 |
18 | Team Saxo Bank | 2 | Row 17 - Cell 3 |
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