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UCI WorldTour 2014: comprehensive rankings round-up

Alejandro Valverde claims world number one spot

Alejandro Valverde becomes the third Spaniard to top the world rankings, after Alberto Contador and three-time winner Joaquim Rodriguez, in its current incarnation.

But the Movistar man was far from the only one to enjoy a hugely successful, consistent season.

Unsurprisingly, all three Grand Tour winners make the top ten – Vuelta a Espana champion Contador narrowly missing out on top spot, which he would likely have sealed had he not crashed out of the Tour de France.

Alejandro Valverde, right, beat fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador to the world number one spot – the Vuelta a Espana champion’s injuries proving costly (pic: Sirotti)

Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), finished fifth overall – ending a run of three consecutive years which has seen the respective Tour champion finish second.

Both Nibali and Giro d’Italia winner Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who finished sixth, peaked for their successful Grand Tours but results otherwise were limited – the Colombian crashing out of the Vuelta.

Instead Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) – after a season which started with Tour Down Under success and was followed by wins at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, GP de Quebec and GP de Montreal – finished third overall.

Rui Costa’s third consecutive Tour de Suisse win helped the Lampre-Merida man to fourth, while Chris Froome, after Tour de Romandie success and second at the Vuelta a Espana, is the highest placed Brit in seventh.

Alexander Kristoff’s fine year, which included Milan-San Remo success and his first two Tour de France stage wins, makes him the highest placed sprinter in eighth while Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) and Jean-Christophe Peraud (Ag2r-La Mondiale) complete the top ten.

With 300 points needed to reach the top ten, three-time champion Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), who suffered an injury-hit campaign, and 2011 winner Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) both missed out on the top ten.

Australian champion Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) celebrates his Liege-Bastogne-Liege win. Gerrans finished third overall in the WorldTour rankings (pic: Sirotti)

Martin’s fine end to the season, winning at the Giro di Lombardia and finishing second – after winning stage four – at the Tour of Beijing, also meant Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) dropping out of the top ten.

A total of 238 riders scored points during the season, while a further 43 Pro Continental riders finished in point-scoring positions, but were ineligible to claim them.

UCI WorldTour 2014: final individual rankings (top ten)

1) Alejandro Valverde (ESP) – Movistar – 686pts
2) Alberto Contador (ESP) –Tinkoff-Saxo – 620pts
3) Simon Gerrans (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 478pts
4) Rui Costa (POR) – Lampre-Merida – 461pts
5) Vincnenzo Nibali (ITA) – Astana – 392pts
6) Nairo Quintana (COL) – Movistar – 346pts
7) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – 326pts
8) Alexander Kristoff (NOR) – Katusha – 321pts
9) Daniel Martin (IRL) – Garmin-Sharp – 316pts
10) Jean-Christophe Peraud (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale – 300pts

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