After last weekend’s racing, we’re a quarter of the way into the WorldTour season, with seven of the 28 events now completed. So how are the standings shaping up?
After a 2014 season which was, by the standards of the previous two years, disappointing to say the least, Sky are currently dominating both the individual and team rankings. With Richie Porte victorious at both Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya (in addition to his runner-up spot at the Tour Down Under) and Geraint Thomas placing first and third at E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem, it’s no surprise that the pair have given Sky an early season one-two in the individual standings.
1. Richie Porte (Sky) 303 pts
2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) 184
3. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r La Mondiale) 136
4. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) 133
5. Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quick Step) 133
You might be surprised to see Domenico Pozzovivo in third place, but he has steadily accumulated points with top ten finishes in Australia (sixth), Tirreno-Adriatico (eighth) and Catalunya (third). Similarly, Rigoberto Uran was third and fifth respectively at Tirreno-Adriatico and Catalunya.
In the team rankings, Sky are way out in front, with the classics specialist-heavy Etixx-Quick Step, despite some tactical blunders, a clear second.
1. Sky 525 pts
2. Etixx-Quick Step 394
3. Katusha 303
4. Movistar 298
5. BMC 240
Finally, given that Australian riders have won three out of seven races so far (and have registered a total of six podium finishes), it’s no surprise that the boys from Down Under head up the country rankings.
1. Australia 578 pts
2. Italy 359
3. Spain 337
4. Colombia 280
5. Netherlands 256
How does the WorldTour points system work?
For each of the 28 WorldTour events, points are allocated to the top ten finishers, with stage races also awarding a smaller number of points to the first five across the line.
100 points are awarded to the winner of stage races and the five one-day monuments, other one-day races are worth 80 points, while the three grand tours offer bonanza points hauls: 200 for the Tour de France winner, 170 for the champions at the Giro and Vuelta.
Finally, up to 200 points are available in the team rankings for the first ten teams in the team time trial at September’s Road World Championships. (No individual points are awarded.) The overall team scores are calculated by adding any Worlds TTT points to the five highest individual totals from each team. Similarly, the country standings are totted up from each nation’s five highest points scorers.