Relegation Watch: Nairo Quintana's potential lost points could reshape WorldTour battle

CAHORS FRANCE JULY 22 LR Hugo Hofstetter of France Amaury Capiot of Belgium Lukasz Owsian of Poland and Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas of Colombia and Team Arka Samsic wearing the womens team jersey they will wear in the 1st edition of the Tour de France during the team presentation prior to the 109th Tour de France 2022 Stage 19 a 1883km stage from CastelnauMagnoac to Cahors TDF2022 WorldTour on July 22 2022 in Cahors France Photo by Michael SteeleGetty Images
(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Nairo Quintana's disqualification from the Tour de France has been damaging for Arkéa-Samsic for a number of reasons, but it could well place their future at risk, with the loss of rankings points pushing them back down the WorldTour queue. 

The French team currently operate at second-division level but have long looked near-certain to earn promotion to the WorldTour as one of the top 18 teams on the UCI's three-year rolling ranking. 

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UCI 2020-2022 teams ranking as of August 23
RankingTeam2020 pts2021 pts2022 ptsTotal pts
1Jumbo-Visma991912914.671182034653.67
2Ineos Grenadiers7628.3314998.66992632552.99
3QuickStep-AlphaVinyl9776.1615641.21671432131.37
4UAE Team Emirates850312355.66937830236.66
5Bora-Hansgrohe6738.58222885323813.5
6Bahrain Victorious468610429797223087
7Alpecin-Deceuninck47888251656819607
8Groupama-FDJ56146715671019039
9Trek-Segafredo65916593.66498518169.66
10Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert34345571828317288
11Astana Qazaqstan66126469276315844
12AG2R Citroën36287151502215801
13Team DSM7582.713887367415143.71
14Arkéa-Samsic36975000607914776
15Cofidis28065481595914246
16BikeExchange-Jayco49864686.33449714169.33
17EF Education EasyPost5576.995362.33309814037.32
18Movistar29536656436813977
19Lotto Soudal32314704541713352
20Israel-Premier Tech23586704.66392012982.66
21TotalEnergies1418319245269136
Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.