| Current season or competition: 2012 UCI World Tour |
|
| Sport | Road bicycle racing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| No. of teams | 18 (Others invited on race by race basis) |
| Country(ies) | Europe, Australia, China and Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Rider: Philippe Gilbert Team: Omega Pharma-Lotto Country: Spain |
The UCI World Tour (2009–2010: UCI World Ranking) is the premier annual male elite road cycling tour. It refers to both the tour of 27 events and an annual ranking system based upon performances in these. The World Ranking was launched in 2009, and merged fully with its predecessor the UCI ProTour in 2011.
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Until the end of 2004, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) maintained both the UCI Road World Rankings, which awarded results for all its sanctioned races, and the UCI Road World Cup, which was awarded on the basis of performance in ten selected one day events. Both were replaced from the 2005 season by the UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits. However, disputes between the UCI and ASO, the organisers of the Tour de France and other classics, and eventually with the organisers of the Tours of Italy and Spain, meant that by 2008 the ProTour was devalued as a ranking method, as only one of the Monument events, and three other classics, remained under the auspices of the UCI. As a result, the UCI World Ranking was introduced, merging performances from both the ProTour and other prestigious events. [1]
At the start of 2011, the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged again. [2] The ranking system was re-branded as the 'World Tour', whilst 'ProTeam' [3] was retained as a registration category for professional teams. All ProTeams gain automatic entry to World Tour events.
The UCI World Tour consists of 28 events. [4] These events are made up from:
| Race | World Ranking Points[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Second | Third | final position for which points are given |
||
| Tour de France | Overall Each stage |
200 20 |
150 10 |
120 6 |
20th (4 points) 5th (2 points) |
| Giro d'Italia Vuelta a España |
Overall Each stage |
170 16 |
130 8 |
100 4 |
20th (2 points) 5th (1 point) |
| Tour Down Under Paris–Nice Tirreno–Adriatico Tour of the Basque Country Tour de Romandie Volta a Catalunya Critérium du Dauphiné Tour de Suisse Tour de Pologne Tour of Benelux Tour of Beijing [6] |
Overall Each stage |
100 6 |
80 4 |
70 2 |
10th (4 points) 5th (1 point) |
| Milan – San Remo Tour of Flanders Paris–Roubaix Liège–Bastogne–Liège Giro di Lombardia |
100 | 80 | 70 | 10th (4 points) | |
| E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke[7] Gent–Wevelgem Amstel Gold Race La Flèche Wallonne Clásica de San Sebastián Vattenfall Cyclassics Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec[8] Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal[8] GP Ouest-France |
80 | 60 | 50 | 10th (2 points) | |
In 2009 and 2010, only riders for ProTour teams and Professional Continental teams could earn points. When a national squad, that is not a UCI registered team, participated in a race, its members were not eligible to receive points. In 2011, a rule change meant that only riders on ProTeam squads were eligible for points.
| Year | Top Ranked Individual | Top Ranked Team | Top Ranked Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Alberto Contador (ESP), Astana | Astana | Spain |
| 2010 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP), Team Katusha | Team Saxo Bank | Spain |
| 2011 | Philippe Gilbert (BEL), Omega Pharma-Lotto | Omega Pharma-Lotto | Spain |
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