Rigoberto Uran keeps Omega Pharma-Quickstep top
Belgian super team Omega Pharma-Quickstep were always likely to be challengers for the world number one sport, having forged a team capable of competing across the board, and so it is proving.
Rigoberto Uran’s stage win and second place overall at the Giro d’Italia ensured they remain top of the tree after the season’s first Grand Tour as they continue to score points whenever they compete.
An incredible 18 riders have scored points for the team so far this season – at least six more than any other side have managed – and their top five, the riders who count towards the team classification, have 789 points between them.
Defending champions Movistar are, however, closing in fast – Nairo Quintana’s Giro d’Italia victory, coupled with Alejandro Valverde’s strong showing at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Spring Classics means the Spanish team are breathing down on the leaders.
The two are both more than 200 points clear of the next best team, Ag2r-La Mondiale, while Team Sky – last year’s runners-up – lag behind in eighth place with 444 points.
The British team did not get any rider inside the overall top 20 at the Giro d’Italia and returned without a stage win to their name – they will need a better showing at the Tour if they harbour any serious hopes of being world number one.
UCI WorldTour 2014: team rankings
1) Omega Pharma-Quickstep – 789pts (leading rider: Michal Kwiatkowski)
2) Movistar – 776 (Nairo Quintana)
3) Ag2r-La Mondiale – 542 (Domenico Pozzovivo)
4) Tinkoff-Saxo – 534 (Alberto Contador)
5) Katusha – 529 (Simon Spilak)
6) BMC Racing – 499 (Cadel Evans)
7) Trek Factory Racing – 454 (Fabian Cancellara)
8) Team Sky – 444 (Chris Froome)
9) Belkin Pro Cycling – 374 (Sep Vanmarcke)
10) Orica-GreenEDGE – 373 (Simon Gerrans)
11) Lampre-Merida – 323 (Rui Costa)
12) Giant-Shimano – 290 (John Degenkolb)
13) Astana – 282 (Fabio Aru)
14) Garmin-Sharp – 282 (Tom-Jelte Slagter)
15) FDJ.fr – 248 (Arthur Vichot)
16) Cannondale – 209 (Peter Sagan)
17) Lotto-Belisol – 160 (Jelle Vanendert)
18) Team Europcar – 159 (Pierre Rolland)
