Team Sky back on top in the WorldTour after Froome's Tour success

Chris Froome moves up to second behind Alejandro Valverde in the UCI WorldTour rider ranking; Great Britain now second nation behind Spain

Chris Froome and his teammates at the finish of Stage 21 of the 2015 Tour de France

(Image credit: Watson)

Chris Froome's victory in the 2015 Tour de France on Sunday has propelled Team Sky back to the top of the UCI WorldTour team ranking. Froome himself has moved up to second in the WorldTour rider ranking behind Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

Valverde placed third behind Froome and Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in the Tour de France to amass enough points to retain his pole position in the season-long UCI ranking that awards points to high placings in the most prestigious bike races.

In addition to his Tour podium appearance, Valverde has won Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege this season.

Giro d'Italia winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) slips from second in the ranking to third after placing fifth behind Froome in the Tour. Quintana jumps up the table from 15th to fourth.

Sky's Richie Porte is in fifth after winning Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya. Sky's third rider in the WorldTour top 10 is Welshman Geraint Thomas, in seventh place after a strong show in the Tour that saw him finish 15th overall. His Tour points are added to those gained by victory in E3 Harelbeke in the spring and second place in the Tour de Suisse.

Chris Froome and Richie Porte on stage eighteen of the 2013 Tour de France (Watson)

Chris Froome and Richie Porte are Team Sky's top performers so far in 2015
(Image credit: Watson)

Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) enters the ranking for the first time this season in 84th place after his Tour stage seven victory.

Team Sky are number one in the team ranking ahead of Valverde and Quintana's Movistar outfit, with former number one Katusha slipping to third after a lacklustre Tour de France performance.

Froome's Tour win has also assisted Great Britain in moving up to second behind Spain in the WorldTour nation ranking with Quintana's Tour runner-up spot elevating Colombia to third.

WorldTour points are awarded for one-day race, tour stage and stage race overall finishing positions for counting events. The amount of points awarded depends on the ranking of the event. For example, winning the Tour de France overall gives a rider twice as many points as winning the Eneco Tour overall.

Valverde topped the 2014 WorldTour ranking; top British rider was Froome in seventh.

The next counting event in the 2015 WorldTour is Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian on August 1 followed by the Tour of Poland, from August 2-8.

UCI WorldTour rankings (at July 26 after the Tour de France)

Rider ranking

1. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar 482 points

2. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 422 points

3. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 407 points

4. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar 365 points

5. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 314 points

6. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha 292 points

7. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 283 points

8. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 274 points

9. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha 269 points

10. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin 265 points

26. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge 148 points

84. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx-QuickStep 30 points

93. Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 20 points

110. Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge 10 points

130. Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky 6 points

Team ranking

1. Team Sky 1219 points

2. Movistar 1092 points

3. Katusha 1038 points

4. Etixx-QuickStep 891 points

5. Tinkoff-Saxo 777 points

Nation ranking

1. Spain 1410 points

2. Great Britain 903 points

3. Colombia 785 points

4. France 742 points

5. Australia 696 points

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.