With the Tour of Lombardy completed, it's now official: Alberto Contador will finish the year at the top of the UCI World Ranking.
The Spaniard assumed a commanding lead after his victory in the Tour de France. Much boosted by this result, his current team Astana - currently scrapping for ProTour status after losing a raft of team members and backroom staff to Radio Shack - also finished at the head of the team rankings.
The big mover after the Tour of Lombardy was Samuel Sanchez. Second place in the streets of Como was enough to shift the Olympic champion into third position in the rankings.
This result cemented an all-Spanish top three, as Vuelta winner Alejandro Valverde finished as runner-up. Unsurprisingly, Spain were comfortably the top nation, well ahead of Italy and Australia.
Philippe Gilbert also leapt up the rankings after his fortnight of fine form, moving from twentieth to ninth.
Mark Cavendish is the highest-placed Briton, finishing eighth after his most successful year to date. Bradley Wiggins and David Millar are also inside the top hundred.
As a nation, Great Britain finished eleventh - notably, ahead of France and Switzerland.
UCI World Ranking: Top 10
1. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 527 points
2. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 483
3. Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 357
4. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 334
5. Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 333
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia-HTC 322
7. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 319
8. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Team Columbia-HTC 304
9. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence-Lotto 295
10. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 266
Others:
39. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Garmin-Slipstream 131
100. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Slipstream 39
156. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Katusha 11
204. Roger Hammond (Gbr) Cervelo Test Team 4
223. Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Cervelo Test Team 2
UCI World Ranking: Nations top 10
1. Spain 1,756 points
2. Italy 984
3. Australia 960
4. Germany 753
5. Belgium 675
6. Russia 660
7. Luxembourg 563
8. Netherlands 544
9. Norway 538
10. USA 528
Others:
11. Great Britain 489
16. Ireland 213
External link
UCI World Calendar: final standings
Egan Bernal says he has regained his pre-crash form, but others have improved
Lotte Kopecky to miss Tour de France Femmes with Olympics the main goal
