Mark Cavendish is again the most successful rider of the season and so rightly tops a new Eurosport ranking ahead of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador.
Called the Classment Eurosport, the ranking is based on more than 160 races on the UCI calendar. Points are awarded to riders in the top ten of each race, the top 20 in the major Tours, stage winners and jersey wearers.
According to the point totals published on www.fr.sports.yahoo.com/cyclisme, Cavendish scored a total of 3,193 points for his 23 victories, beating Contador by just 128 points.
Cavendish also topped the best young rider ranking ahead of team mate Edvald Boasson Hagen, while Spain beat Italy to the number one spot in the nations standings.
It could be argued that Contador is the man of the year for winning the Tour de France but as Eurosport point out, he has done little since, while Cavendish raced from the end of January to September and included Milan-San Remo, four stages in the Giro d'Italia and six stages at the Tour de France.
Spain's Alejandro Valverde was third in the ranking, with 2,723 points after his wins at the Vuelta, Dauphine Libere and Vuelta Catalogna.
Fabian Cancellara, Philippe Gilbert, Tom Boonen, Denis Menchov, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Andre Greipel complete the individual top ten.
With three riders in the top ten and 86 wins during 2009, Team Columbia-HTC top the team ranking with a massive 7,253 points, ahead of Astana and Saxo Bank.
As French Eurosport bemoans, no French team made it in the top ten. The best was BBox Bouygues Telecom in 13th, thanks to the success of Thomas Voeckler, who topped the best French rider list with 1050 points for 18th overall.
Top ten individual:
1. MARK CAVENDISH (GB - Columbia HTC) - 3193
2. Alberto Contador (Esp - Astana) - 3065
3. Alejandro Valverde (Esp - Caisse d'Epargne) - 2723
4. Fabian Cancellara (Sui - Saxo Bank) - 2175
5. Philippe Gilbert (Bel - Silence-Lotto) - 2123
6. Tom Boonen (Bel- Quick Step) - 1818
7. Cadel Evans (Aus- Silence-Lotto) - 1665
8. Denis Menchov (Rus- Rabobank) - 1630
9. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor- Columbia HTC) - 1570
10. Andre Greipel (All- Columbia HTC) - 1540
Top ten teams:
1. Columbia HTC - 7253 points
2. Astana - 5025 points
3. Saxo Bank - 5996 points
4. Caisse d'Epargne - 5014 points
5. Cervelo Test Team - 4290 points
6. Quick Step - 4259 points
7. Silence-Lotto - 4096 points
8. Liquigas - 3510 points
9. Rabobank- 3474 points
10. Katusha - 3378 points
Top ten team:
1. Spain - 8769 points
2. Belgium - 5296 points
3. Italy - 4859 points
4. Germany - 4581 points
5. Australia - 4160 points
6. Great Britain - 4064 points
7. Russia - 4006 points
8. France - 3724 points
9. Norway - 2998 points
10. USA - 2740 points
Top ten young riders:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB - Columbia) - 3193 points
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor - Columbia) - 1570 points
3. Andy Schleck (Lux - Saxo Bank) - 1488 points
4. Heinrich Haussler (All - Cervelo) - 1485 points
5. Roman Kreuziger (RTC - Liquigas) - 955 points
6. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita - Liquigas) - 720 points
7. Robert Gesink (PB - Rabobank) - 625 points
8. Romain Feillu (Agritubel) - 623 points
9. Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux) - 495 points
10. Francesco Ginanni (Ita - Serramenti) - 461 points
Top ten French riders:
1. Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) - 1050 points
2. Jimmy Casper (Besson Chaussures-Sojasun) - 817 points
3. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) - 628 points
4. Romain Feillu (Agritubel) - 623 points
5. Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) 540 points
6. David Le Lay (Agritubel) 540 points
7. David Moncoutié (Cofidis) - 530 points
8. Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux) - 495 points
9. Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux) - 425 points
10. Rémi Pauriol (Cofidis) - 405 points
