Although he had the disappointment of being pipped for the overall title in the final time trial, Joaquim Rodriguez has the considerable consolation of jumping to the first in the UCI’s WorldTour series, and thus becoming the new world number one.
The Catalan ended the Giro just sixteen seconds behind Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin Barracuda), delivering the best Grand Tour performance of his career and proving that he is now a bona fide contender for future Grand Tour success.
This, plus his earlier success this season in races such as Flèche Wallonne, sees him build a points total which jumps him from sixth to first in the new UCI rankings, his 404 amassed points moving him well clear of the now-second rider, Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma Quick Step).
The Belgian has 366 points, while Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who also did not ride the Giro, slips a place to third on 272.
Giro d’Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal makes a clear move up the rankings, going from 68th to eighth overall as a result of his success. Other Giro riders who progress are third-place finisher Tomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil DCM), who jumps from 76th to 19th, fourth-placed Michele Scarponi (Lampre ISD, 32nd to 11th), fifth-placed Ivan Basso (in at 27th), and sixth-placed Damiano Cunego (Lampre ISD, 17th to 9th).
Rodriguez said that he was very disappointed with how the Giro turned out, going so close to the win but missing the final pink jersey.
“I really thought I had a chance of winning the Giro d’Italia and so losing it is difficult to take. I always race to win. That’s the kind of rider I am,” he said. “Ryder is the winner of this Giro d’Italia and he deserved it. He proved he’s the strongest.
"I'm sorry because we fought for the win for each of the 21 days. The team worked hard and very well, and I think I did a good final ITT too. Unfortunately, Ryder was better than me, so congratulations to him, he deserved this victory.”
He said that the small sixteen second gap means that taking the defeat is difficult, but stressed that there was no point in him mulling over it too much. “The gap between us is very little, but it's useless to think now of when I lost this competition, whether I could do something better or not,” he reasoned. “That's cycling, every day is important, we did our best but Hesjedal was great.
“Now we have to think about our future: we did a great 'Giro', we must continue to work and train like this, because that's the good path.”
His success also has an impact on the team and nations rankings; Katusha jumps from fourth to first, displacing Liquigas-Cannondale, Sky Procycling and Omega Pharma Quick Step. Garmin Barracuda improves from eleventh to sixth because of Hesjedal’s points, while Lampre ISD also enters the top ten in eighth thanks to Scarponi and Cunego.
Rodriguez’s points keep Spain at the top of the rankings, with its 1,063 points over 100 better than Italy’s 946. Belgium, Australia and the Netherland stay third, fourth and fifth; Canada jumps from 23rd to 10th.
Rodriguez topped the UCI’s final WorldTour classification in 2010. He is thought likely to miss the Tour de France, but will chase more points in the Vuelta a Espana.
UCI WorldTour rankings, 27 May:
Riders:
1 (6) RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 404
2 (1) BOONEN Tom, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 366
3 (2) NIBALI Vincenzo, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 272
4 (3) SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel, EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) 252
5 (4) SAGAN Peter, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 229
6 (5) WIGGINS Bradley, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 224
7 (7) GERRANS Simon, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 210
8 (68) HESJEDAL Ryder, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 197
9 (17) CUNEGO Damiano, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 184
10 (8) FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 180
11 (32) SCARPONI Michele, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 174
12 (9) ALBASINI Michael, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 172
13 (10) VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 167
14 (11) BALLAN Alessandro, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 166
15 (12) GASPAROTTO Enrico, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 150
16 (15) KREUZIGER Roman, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 149
17 (13) MOLLEMA Bauke, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 132
18 (14) MARTIN Daniel, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 132
19 (76) DE GENDT Thomas, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 126
20 (34) URAN URAN Rigoberto, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 125
21 (16) ROGERS Michael, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 112
22 (18) VANENDERT Jelle, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 104
23 (19) IGLINSKY Maxim, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 100
24 (20) HORNER Christopher, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 96
25 (21) WESTRA Lieuwe, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 96
26 (22) TERPSTRA Niki, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 90
27 (-) BASSO Ivan, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 88
28 (23) CANCELLARA Fabian, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 86
29 (24) SPILAK Simon, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 86
30 (25) TALANSKY Andrew, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 85
31 (26) FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 75
32 (27) KISERLOVSKI Robert, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 74
33 (28) GILBERT Philippe, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 72
34 (29) VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 72
35 (30) MACHADO Tiago, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 72
36 (31) NOCENTINI Rinaldo, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 71
37 (33) BOASSON HAGEN Edvald, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 70
38 (75) CAVENDISH Mark, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 66
39 (35) PORTE Richie, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 62
40 (36) BRESCHEL Matti, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 60
41 (38) FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 60
42 (37) VAN AVERMAET Greg, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 60
43 (39) VAN GARDEREN Tejay, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 52
44 (40) MARTIN Tony, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 52
45 (41) HOOGERLAND Johnny, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 51
46 (42) EISEL Bernhard, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 50
47 (101) HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 48
48 (44) BAKELANTS Jan, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 42
49 (43) NORDHAUG Lars Petter, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 42
50 (63) CATALDO Dario, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 42
51 (-) NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel, EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) 42
52 (45) BOOM Lars, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 40
53 (46) JEANNESSON Arnold, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 40
54 (48) BENNATI Daniele, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 37
55 (47) SZMYD Sylvester, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 34
56 (-) GADRET John, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 33
57 (49) PERAUD Jean-Christophe, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 32
58 (-) GOSS Matthew Harley, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 32
59 (50) VANMARCKE Sep, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 31
60 (53) TOSATTO Matteo, TEAM SAXO BANK (SAX) 30
61 (51) MONFORT Maxime, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 30
62 (52) PAOLINI Luca, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 30
63 (54) SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 25
64 (55) CHAVANEL Sylvain, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 24
65 (56) POELS Wouter, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 24
66 (84) TIRALONGO Paolo, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 22
67 (82) THOMAS Geraint, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 22
68 (57) GREIPEL André, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 22
69 (58) CARRARA Matteo, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 21
70 (59) HAYMAN Mathew, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 20
71 (60) MORENO BAZAN Javier, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 20
72 (-) AMADOR BAKKAZAKOVA Andrey, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 20
73 (-) TSCHOPP Johann, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 18
74 (120) PINOTTI Marco, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 17
75 (61) BRAJKOVIC Janez, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 16
76 (62) MATTHEWS Michael, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 16
77 (-) IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Jon, EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) 16
78 (-) BAK Lars Ytting, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 16
79 (-) VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco José, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 16
80 (-) PHINNEY Taylor, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 16
81 (64) MARCATO Marco, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 14
82 (65) LADAGNOUS Matthieu, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 14
83 (66) MEERSMAN Gianni, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 13
84 (67) WEGMANN Fabian, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 12
85 (69) ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 12
86 (70) CHAINEL Steve, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 10
87 (71) RIBLON Christophe, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 10
88 (72) VAN SUMMEREN Johan, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 10
89 (73) OSS Daniel, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 10
90 (91) PARDILLA BELLON Sergio, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 10
91 (-) DUPONT Hubert, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 10
92 (86) RENSHAW Mark, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 10
93 (97) FARRAR Tyler, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 9
94 (121) HAEDO Juan José, TEAM SAXO BANK (SAX) 9
95 (-) BRUSEGHIN Marzio, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 8
96 (-) CASAR Sandy, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 8
97 (-) INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Benat, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 8
98 (-) MALORI Adriano, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 8
99 (95) GOLAS Michal, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 8
100 (92) NIZZOLO Giacomo, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 8
101 (-) KRISTOFF Alexander, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 8
102 (-) CHICCHI Francesco, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 8
103 (74) DAVIS Allan, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 8
104 (80) LARSSON Gustav, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 7
105 (77) HUTAROVICH Yauheni, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 7
106 (78) ULISSI Diego, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 6
107 (99) VISCONTI Giovanni, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 6
108 (79) MEYER Cameron, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 6
109 (-) RASMUSSEN Alex, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 6
110 (81) IMPEY Daryl, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 6
111 (83) PETACCHI Alessandro, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 6
112 (85) GAVAZZI Francesco, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 5
113 (87) BOLE Grega, LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) 5
114 (90) VICIOSO ARCOS Angel, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 4
115 (88) VORGANOV Eduard, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 4
116 (89) WYNANTS Maarten, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 4
117 (-) DE GREEF Francis, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 4
118 (-) LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 4
119 (-) CLEMENT Stef, RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) 4
120 (-) SOUPE Geoffrey, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 4
121 (-) SERGENT Jesse, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 4
122 (-) SCHLECK Frank, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 4
123 (-) VAITKUS Tomas, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 4
124 (-) HUNTER Robert, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 4
125 (93) MENCHOV Denis, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 4
126 (94) VOIGT Jens, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 4
127 (96) CIOLEK Gerald, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 4
128 (111) BOARO Manuele, TEAM SAXO BANK (SAX) 3
129 (98) LEIPHEIMER Levi, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 3
130 (-) MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 2
131 (-) CARUSO Damiano, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 2
132 (100) SAMOILAU Branislau, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 2
133 (-) FRANK Mathias, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 2
134 (-) DYACHENKO Alexsandr, ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) 2
135 (114) BELLETTI Manuel, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 2
136 (-) DEMARE Arnaud, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 2
137 (102) CHEREL Mikael, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 2
138 (103) FLORENCIO CABRE Xavier, KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) 2
139 (104) APPOLLONIO Davide, SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) 2
140 (105) HAUSSLER Heinrich, GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) 2
141 (107) ROHREGGER Thomas, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) 1
142 (-) HERRADA LOPEZ José, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 1
143 (-) SANTAROMITA Ivan, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 1
144 (115) GASTAUER Ben, AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) 1
145 (112) SABATINI Fabio, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 1
146 (-) HAEDO Lucas Sebastian, TEAM SAXO BANK (SAX) 1
147 (118) TUFT Svein, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 1
148 (117) HUSHOVD Thor, BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) 1
149 (106) VERDUGO MARCOTEGUI Gorka, EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) 1
150 (108) PATERSKI Maciej, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 1
151 (109) KIRYIENKA Vasili, MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) 1
152 (110) VICHOT Arthur, FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) 1
153 (113) VANDEWALLE Kristof, OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) 1
154 (116) RATTO Daniele, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 1
155 (119) HENDERSON Greg, LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) 1
156 (122) VAN HUMMEL Kenny Robert, VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) 1
157 (123) VIVIANI Elia, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) 1
158 (124) MCEWEN Robbie, ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) 1
Teams:
1 (4) KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) RUS, 708
2 (2) LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) ITA, 633
3 (3) SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) GBR, 597
4 (1) OMEGA PHARMA-QUICKSTEP (OPQ) BEL, 574
5 (5) ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST) KAZ, 495
6 (11) GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) USA, 457
7 (6) ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE) AUS, 428
8 (15) LAMPRE - ISD (LAM) ITA, 378
9 (7) BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) USA, 368
10 (8) RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) LUX, 333
11 (14) VACANSOLEIL-DCM PRO CYCLING TEAM (VCD) NED, 318
12 (12) EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) ESP, 311
13 (9) MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV) ESP, 298
14 (10) RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) NED, 273
15 (13) LOTTO BELISOL TEAM (LTB) BEL, 227
16 (16) AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) FRA, 156
17 (17) FDJ-BIG MAT (FDJ) FRA, 79
18 (18) TEAM SAXO BANK (SAX) DEN, 43
Nations:
1 (1) SPAIN, 1,063
2 (2) ITALY, 946
3 (3) BELGIUM, 740
4 (4) AUSTRALIA, 436
5 (5) NETHERLANDS, 409
6 (8) GREAT BRITAIN, 312
7 (6) SWITZERLAND, 278
8 (7) UNITED STATES, 258
9 (9) SLOVAKIA, 229
10 (23) CANADA, 198
11 (19) COLOMBIA, 173
12 (13) CZECH REPUBLIC, 149
13 (10) PORTUGAL, 147
14 (12) FRANCE, 143
15 (11) IRELAND, 132
16 (14) NORWAY, 121
17 (15) SLOVENIA, 107
18 (16) KAZAKHSTAN, 102
19 (17) GERMANY, 94
20 (20) DENMARK, 82
21 (18) CROATIA, 74
22 (21) AUSTRIA, 51
23 (22) POLAND, 43
24 (-) COSTA RICA, 20
25 (30) ARGENTINA, 10
26 (24) BELARUS, 10
27 (27) SOUTH AFRICA, 10
28 (25) RUSSIA, 8
29 (26) SWEDEN, 7
30 (29) NEW ZEALAND, 5
31 (28) LUXEMBOURG, 5
32 (-) LITHUANIA, 4