He may have been put out of contention in yesterday’s Amstel Gold Race with an unlucky crash, but Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) does have the consolation of holding on to the lead of the International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour ranking. With the series switching from the week-long tours and cobbled Classics to the hilly Classics of the Ardennes, none of the other riders inside last week’s top four scored any points in the Dutch Classic; the only rider inside the top ten to score in the race was Robert Gesink (Rabobank), whose ninth place netted him six points.
The big mover in the rankings is Amstel winner Philippe Gilbert (OmegaPharma-Lotto), who rises from 16th to fifth. The Belgian led the series for several weeks last season, but was eventually beaten into third by Joaquim Rodriguez and Alberto Contador.
No change for the team rankings but Belgium surges into the lead nation spot
RadioShack holds on to its number one spot in the team ranking, largely thanks to the presence of Andreas Klöden and Chris Horner in the top ten. Likewise, Matt Goss and Tony Martin’s points keep HTC-Highroad in second place, with Gesink providing almost half of Rabobank’s points.
There is a change, at least, at the top of the national rankings, with Gilbert’s points adding to those of Tom Boonen (Quick Step), and cobbled Classic kings Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank-SunGard) and Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Cervélo), to leap to the top. Australia manages to hold on to second, thanks to Simon Gerrans (Sky) taking third place in Amstel, while former leader Italy sinks to third.
UCI WorldTour ranking April 18th, 2011
1. (1) Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek 236pts
2. (2) Matt Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad 203
3. (3) Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack 202
4. (4) Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-ISD 202
5. (16) Philippe Gilbert (Bel) OmegaPharma-Lotto 176
6. (5) Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 156
7. (6) Chris Horner (USA) RadioShack 143
8. (7) Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 140
9. (8) Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 128
10. (9) Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad 114
Team ranking
1. (1) RadioShack (USA) 465pts
2. (2) HTC-Highroad (USA) 453
3. (3) Rabobank (Ned) 398
4. (4) Garmin-Cervélo (USA) 358
5. (5) Leopard Trek (Lux) 345
National ranking
1. (3) Belgium 560
2. (2) Australia 558
3. (1) Italy 525
4. (4) Spain 432
5. (5) Germany 399