04.14.2008 1:33 pm
Astana leads UCI rankings
Saint Louis Post-Dispatch
Yep, the team barred from the Tour de France sits atop of the UCI world rankings as the top team in cycling.
So much for Tour director Christian Prudhomme’s pronouncement after naming the teams invited to the Tour de France: ”These are, I believe, the best teams in the world.”
Uh, huh.
Meanwhile, defending Tour champ Alberto Contador of Astana is second in the UCI world rankings, ahead of presumptive TdF favorite Cadel Evans, the defending world champ who by the way finished second to Contador last week in the Vuelta al País Vasco — aka Tour of Basque Country in Spain.
Top 5 in UCI team world rankings …
| Rank | Previous (09.04.2008) | Code | Teams | Country | Points |
| 1 | 3 | AST | ASTANA | LUX | 62 |
| 2 | 2 | THR | HIGH ROAD | USA | 62 |
| 3 | 5 | QST | QUICK STEP | BEL | 54 |
| 4 | 4 | GCE | CAISSE D’EPARGNE | ESP | 52 |
| 5 | 1 | CSC | TEAM CSC | DEN | 49 |
Top 5 in UCI individual world rankings
| 1 | 1 | GREIPEL André (GER) | GER | HIGH ROAD | 62 |
| 2 | - | CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto (ESP) | ESP | ASTANA | 58 |
| 3 | 2 | DEVOLDER Stijn (BEL) | BEL | QUICK STEP | 50 |
| 4 | 3 | ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin (ESP) | ESP | CAISSE D’EPARGNE | 45 |
| 5 | - | EVANS Cadel (AUS) | AUS | SILENCE-LOTTO | 42 |
–30–


