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Germany’s Andre Greipel of the High Road team still leads the UCI ProTour standings after a thrilling Tour of Flanders race on Sunday, but this week’s Ghent-Wevelgem and the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco stage race could revolutionise the standings of the season-long competition.
Greipel racked up 62 points when he won the overall classification at the Tour Down Under and four stages of the Australian UCI ProTour race. He finished out of the points in the Tour of Flanders but kept the lead because Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) took just 50 points for victory in the one-day race. Belgium’s Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) is third overall with 40 points after finishing second in the Tour of Flanders, while Spain’s Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d’Epargne) is fourth after scoring 38 points in the Tour Down Under.
40 points are awarded to the winner of Wednesday’s Gent-Wevelgem, with other points going down to tenth place, while the winner of the weeklong Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco scores 50 points and each stage victory is worth three points.
The UCI ProTour competition rewards the best overall rider in the best races in professional cycling and the inclusion of both stage races and the one-day classics means the final winner truly is cycling’s best cyclist of the season.
Gent-Wevelgem suits sprinters such as Belgium’s Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) of Norway and Britain’s Mark Cavendish (High Road), while the route of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco is packed with 26 classified climbs but has no mountain-top finish. It ends in the town of Orio with a 20-km individual time trial to create a finally balanced race. Spain’s Alberto Contador (Astana) is the favourite for overall success but he will face serious competition from Italians Damiano Cunego (Lampre) and Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval), and Dutchman Thomas Dekker (Rabobank).
Both the teams and nations rankings are also expected to change after Gent-Wevlegem and the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco.
Home success in the two races could be vital in the nations rankings as Spain and Belgium currently top the standings. Spain has 104 points, just four more than Belgium, while Germany is third with 64 points.
The French Francaise des Jeux team still lead after the Tour of Flanders with a total of 33 points, with Silence-Lotto second at 32 points, and High Road third with 29 points. With 20 points available in both races, expected major changes as the bigger teams begin to flex their muscles and show their diversity and ability in both one-day classics and stage races.
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