5 methods the UCI factors system will change how the Tour de France is raced
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The Giro d’Italia has given the primary clues as to how the UCI’s overhaul of the World Rankings factors scheme will impression WorldTour groups within the subsequent three seasons as they battle for locations within the prime division in 2026.
Following criticisms that the factors have been too closely weighted towards one-day races, the UCI overhauled how factors have been allotted for the World Rankings. The largest adjustments got here at WorldTour stage, most importantly on the Grand Excursions and Monuments.
Cyclingnews examined the most recent rankings and the factors gained throughout the Giro to see what the brand new World Rankings system has incentivised and to gauge what we will anticipate to see throughout the upcoming Tour de France and past.
There may be nonetheless a protracted strategy to go till the following WorldTour relegations in 2026, however the brand new system seems to be altering the form of the game in some delicate however vital methods.
Groups do not want a Grand Tour GC contender as badly
The present factors system gave much more weight to general Grand Tour winners – the Tour de France champion earns 1,300 factors this 12 months slightly than 1,000, and the Giro and Vuelta a España winners earn 1,100 versus 850. Nevertheless, an enlargement in factors awarded for stage placings and minor classifications offers extra alternatives for groups missing an general contender.
Till this season, solely the highest 5 riders on a Grand Tour stage have been rewarded with factors. Now, the factors go right down to the highest 15 and the factors for a stage winner is 210 factors slightly than 120. Compared, the highest 60 riders general nonetheless earn factors and every inserting received a increase of 20-25%.
Moreover, the UCI modified how the group rankings are calculated, taking the factors from the highest 20 riders of a group slightly than 10. Which means a group can go right into a Grand Tour just like the Giro d’Italia and not using a basic classification contender and nonetheless revenue nearly as a lot.
Take Trek-Segafredo, for instance – that they had an ideal steadiness, with Mads Pedersen as a strong sprinter who earned a stage win and 4 different top-five stage finishes. That they had Toms Skujiņš happening the assault on six levels with 4 of the breakaways profitable in netting him factors. He did not get a stage win however his second place on stage 12 and Alex Kirsch’s second place in Rome have been value greater than a stage victory final 12 months.
The American group got here out of the Giro transferring up from eighth to seventh – making up some floor they’d misplaced throughout Tour de Romandie and 4 Jours de Dunkerque and getting a leg up on Lotto Dstny, who didn’t race the Giro.
Even Alpecin-Deceuninck, who have been unremarkable within the second and third weeks, managed to achieve a good haul of factors with Stefano Oldani within the factors on six levels, and Kaden Groves’ robust haul within the first week together with a stage win.
Count on extra aggressive racing within the Tour de France
The Giro d’Italia supplied loads of drama courtesy of breakaway riders, from Ben Healy’s superhuman solo on stage 8 to Thibaut Pinot’s heartbreak at Crans-Montana and Val di Zoldo, and Derek Gee’s Energizer Bunny routine all through the race.
The factors system rewards panache, and for that, we will all be grateful.
Stacking the highest 10 in ProSeries races is now not as profitable as profitable a Grand Tour stage, and the system rewards aggressive driving greater than earlier than because of the deeper factors pool.
Regardless of not having good GC prospects as a consequence of unhealthy luck or price range, EF Training-EasyPost, Israel-Premier Tech and Trek-Segafredo scored extra factors within the Giro d’Italia than Crew DSM with Andreas Leknessund within the prime 10 general. Why? They have been sending riders up the highway nearly each single day.
In keeping with an evaluation by Raul Banqueri, Gee, essentially the most combative rider, earned Israel-Premier Tech nearly 700 extra factors for his outcomes – six prime 10’s on levels, twenty second general and second in each mountains and factors classifications – than he would have with the earlier factors scheme.
That effort will assist his group go a good distance towards his group rejoining the WorldTour after being relegated to ProTeam standing this 12 months.
Previously all-time low of the WorldTour within the triennial rankings, Israel-Premier Tech are actually trying fairly robust in fifteenth with out having a single GC contender.
The identical goes for EF Training-EasyPost. Their prime rider in GC was Alberto Bettiol in a really distant forty eighth after GC males Rigoberto Uran and Hugh Carthy deserted. They solely completed with 4 riders, however their breakaway riders earned enormous income.
The group claimed two stage wins because of Ben Healy in Fossombrone and Magnus Cort on stage 10. With factors from Healy’s second place in Bergamo, Cort’s third at Tre Cime di Lavaredo, and Alex Cepeda’s contentious third at Crans-Montana, they earned 1,020 factors and 660 greater than they’d have within the earlier system.
Count on extra of the identical throughout the Tour de France the place the factors on provide are increased than within the Giro.
Massive-budget groups will nonetheless find yourself on prime
The brand new system nonetheless favours the groups with the most important price range and prime stars. Ineos Grenadiers gained essentially the most UCI factors with 2,781 throughout the Giro d’Italia with Jumbo-Visma and UAE Crew Emirates additionally gaining greater than 2,000 factors.
Bahrain Victorious, with Damiano Caruso‘s 840 factors gained by his fourth place general (600 factors) and stage finishes, Jonathan Milan’s stage win, factors classification victory and different stage placings (a complete of 925 factors) contributed to the group rocketing 5 locations up the 2023 group rankings to fourth.
Jayco-AlUla profited from Eddie Dunbar’s prime 10 on GC, incomes the fifth-most factors but it surely was nonetheless nearly 700 fewer than UAE Crew Emirates’ haul.
There are much more factors obtainable on the Tour de France, which is in a factors tier of its personal.
Favourites Jumbo-Visma, UAE Crew Emirates, Ineos Grenadiers and, beneath them, Bora-Hansgrohe and Bahrain Victorious will doubtless find yourself as they have been on the finish of the 2020-2022 rankings, however it can make the competitors between the groups in fifth place and beneath extra intense.
Groups can bounce again from unhealthy luck in Grand Excursions
Remco Evenepoel‘s abandon as a consequence of COVID-19 severely impacted his group’s prospects after a Classics marketing campaign the place he was their sole winner.
Nevertheless, Soudal-Quickstep nonetheless managed to come back out of the Giro d’Italia with 859 factors – halfway between Ineos on the prime and Corratec-Selle Italia in twenty second. Ending with solely two riders, they scored solely marginally lower than Crew DSM who had one rider within the prime 10.
Evaluate this with final 12 months, when Simon Yates deserted the Giro d’Italia as a consequence of a knee damage and was additionally unable to race within the Tour de France. His absence within the GC severely hampered Jayco’s factors haul and so they needed to scramble desperately for factors on the finish of the season.
Groups can breathe a sigh of aid because the UCI’s factors overhaul which provides much more alternatives to achieve factors exterior of the final classification.
Final season, stage outcomes totaled simply 37% of the whole factors pot, whereas this 12 months that determine has risen to 66%. The GC, in the meantime, used to account for 55% of the whole factors awarded however is now solely 29%.
Evenepoel’s stage wins within the time trials counted for 80 extra factors than final season, and his fourth place at Gran Sasso d’Italia 68 extra.
By way of the stage outcomes, Soudal-Quickstep earned extra factors than Movistar, who had Einer Rubio end in eleventh place general and solely dropped two spots within the group rankings, with Groupama-FDJ and Bahrain Victorious climbing over them.
Switch season can be intense
Increasing the factors to the highest 20 means groups are freer to decide on who they ship to the Tour de France, and freer to launch riders up the highway in hopes a breakaway will stick.
Groups will want stage hunters if they can not rent an excellent GC prospect. That can make the negotiations to rent riders like Gee or Toms Skujiņš who can go on the assault day after day much more profitable. A second-tier sprinter or climber may also change into extra worthwhile for groups who cannot rating a Tour de France contender or who want a back-up plan.
And who deserves this type of reward greater than the swashbucklers of the Grand Excursions who could make even the dullest day for the GC a thrill to observe?
One group that might want to begin engaged on constructing a a lot deeper group is Astana Qazaqstan. Regardless of having Mark Cavendish and a stage win from the Giro, they eked out a paltry 680 factors within the Giro – fewer than Eolo Kometa who’re nowhere within the UCI group rankings.
As we noticed with Israel-Premier Tech, an excellent recruitment technique is vital. Gee, Marco Frigo, and Matthew Riccitello – all factors scorers within the Giro- have been new to the group this season.
Astana are as much as twenty second from twenty fourth, however they’re greater than two thousand factors behind 18th place within the rankings, so Alexander Vinokourov actually must do some wheeling and dealing in July.
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