Leon Sanchez leads latest world rankings

Luis Leon Sanchez may have missed out on a second Paris-Nice title, but the Caisse d'Epargne rider's third place finish has seen him move to the top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) individual rider rankings, released on Monday.

Sanchez has traded places with André Greipel (HTC-Columbia) at the top of the rankings, which are based on the two World Calendar events so far contested – the Tour Down Under and Paris-Nice. The man that finished at the top of the Paris-Nice podium, Alberto Contador (Astana), is the highest new entry to the list, in third.

Contador finished the 2009 rankings as UCI's world number one.

Sanchez's Caisse d'Epargne teammate Alejandro Valverde moved from 11th to fourth after finishing in second at Paris-Nice.

While results at Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo will soon alter the rankings, Sanchez indicated on Monday that he will look to retain top spot with a strong performance at the Tour of Cataluña later this month.

"I am happy because it means that I've been doing a great job in the early part of the season and it is also a reward for all the effort to prepare for this year in the best possible way," Sanchez said.

"It's only the beginning of the year and that ranking will change with the next races. It means that I'll have to fight hard to remain in the lead. I'll try to recover very well and present myself in good shape for the Tour of Cataluña so that I can keep on leading [the World Rankings]."

Sanchez and Valverde's participation at the Tour Down Under and podium success at Paris-Nice has also their squad jump to the top of the team standings where they replace HTC-Columbia. The US squad has moved back to third behind Katusha, who retained second position.

The Spanish stranglehold on the Paris-Nice podium has seen the European country replace Australia at the top of the national rankings. Spain has more than double the points of Australia, with Germany in third.