The nation rankings determine how many riders a country is able to take to the UCI World Championships at the end of the year so, while the competition may be overlooked by some, they play an important role throughout the season.

And two nations, so far, have stood out above the others.

Australia led the way, perhaps unsurprisingly, after the Tour Down Under where Simon Gerrans, Cadel Evans, Richie Porte, Nathan Haas, Adam Hansen and Mark Renshaw all picked up points – though only the top five riders from each country count towards the tally.

In Adelaide, only Italian Diego Ulissi prevented an entirely Australian top five, but illnesses to Gerrans during Paris-Nice and Porte at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya mean their points tally has stalled.

In their place, Spain – thanks to the performances of Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez – now lead the way.

France are third thanks to solid showings by Arthur Vichot, Arnaud Demare, Romain Bardet, Jean-Christophe Peraud and Cyril Gautier, while Colombia and Great Britain round off the top five.

For more on the Brits, see the next page.

UCI WorldTour 2014: nation rankings (top ten)

1) Spain – 455 points
2) Australia – 336
3) France – 310
4) Colombia – 301
5) Great Britain – 244
6) Italy – 179
7) Slovakia – 153
8) Belgium – 150
9) Netherlands – 126
10) Germany – 123