Daryl Impey hangs on to WorldTour lead after Paris-Nice

Tour Down Under winner Daryl Impey still occupies the top spot in the men's WorldTour ranking after the Paris-Nice results are added; Anna van der Breggen leads the women's WorldTour

Daryl Impey wins the 2018 Tour Down Under overall.
(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

South African Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) has clung onto his lead in the men's UCI WorldTour after the results of Paris-Nice were added to the ranking on Sunday.

Impey won the season-opening Tour Down Under in Australia in January, and then followed it up with third place at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on January 28 to position himself at the top of the WorldTour table – and he's been there ever since.

However, with racing now fully under way in Europe, Impey's time at the top of the ranking may well be about to come to an end.

>>> Marc Soler grabs Paris-Nice title by four seconds from Simon Yates on final stage

Marc Soler (Movistar) leaped up the ranking to second place behind Impey on Sunday after winning Paris-Nice with a strong final stage performance. The Spaniard shunted team-mate Alejandro Valverde down to third spot, with Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) moving up to fourth after third overall in Paris-Nice.

British Paris-Nice runner-up Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) is in fifth.

With Impey and Yates in the top five individual ranking, it's no surprise to see Mitchelton-Scott occupy the top slot in the WorldTour team ranking. Quick-Step Floors are second behind the Australia team, with Bora-Hansgrohe in third.

Things may change on Tuesday, when the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race concludes in Italy and results are added to the ranking. Impey is one of those taking part.

The next WorldTour events after that are Milan-San Remo (March 17), Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (March 19-25) and E3 Harelbeke (March 23).

>>> WorldTour 2018: Latest news, reports and race info

UCI WorldTour men's ranking (as of Mar 11)

Individual riders

1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott, 800 pts

2. Marc Soler (Esp) Movistar, 545 pts

3. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, 515 pts

4. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, 500 pts

5. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott, 470 pts

6. Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, 460 pts

7. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Floors, 400 pts

8. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, 387 pts

9. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, 370 pts

10. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Bahrain-Merida, 365 pts

Teams

1. Mitchelton-Scott, 1691 pts

1. Quick-Step Floors, 1426 pts

3. Bora-Hansgrohe, 1263 pts

4. Movistar, 1223 pts

5. Bahrain-Merida, 1207 pts

https://youtu.be/vLyA9hvrUZo

Boels-Dolmans dominate women's WorldTour so far

The second race in the 2018 women's WorldTour took place on Sunday – the Ronde van Drenthe. Dutchwoman Amy Pieters (Boels-Dolmans) took the honours in the Netherlands race to position herself in second spot in the women's WorldTour ranking behind team-mate Anna van der Breggen.

Van der Breggen tops the women's ranking after taking victory in the first race in the women's WorldTour calendar: Strade Bianche.

>>> Amy Pieters wins bunch sprint to take Ronde van Drenthe victory

Needless to say, Boels-Dolmans therefore sit at the top of the team ranking, comfortably ahead of Ale-Cipollini and Canyon-SRAM.

The Trofeo Alfredo Binda in Italy is the next race in the women's WorldTour calendar, followed by Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde in Belgium on March 22.

UCI WorldTour women's ranking (as of Mar 11)

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 205 points

2. Amy Pieters (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 200 pts

3. Alexis Ryan (USA) Canyon-SRAM, 150 pts

4. Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM, 150 pts

5. Marta Bastianello (Ita) Ale-Cipollini, 130 pts

6. Chloe Hosking (Aus) Ale-Cipollini, 125 pts

7. Elia Longo Borghini (Ita) Wiggle-High5, 125 pts

8. Chantal Blaak (Ned) Boels Dolmans, 100 pts

9. Marianne Vos (Ned) Waowdeals Pro Cycling, 85 pts

10. Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, 85 pts

Teams

1. Boels-Dolmans, 541 points

2. Ale Cipollini, 244 pts

3. Canyon-SRAM, 338 pts

4. Team Sunweb, 206 pts

5. Mitchelton-Scott, 186 pts

Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

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, n exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.