Breakaways like this one from Ben Healy, Derek Gee, Valentin Paret-Peintre and Carlos Verona have been given incentives from the new UCI rankings system The Giro d’Italia has given the first clues as to how the UCI’s overhaul of the World Rankings points scheme will impact WorldTour teams in the next three seasons as they battle for places in the top division in 2026.
Following criticisms that the points were too heavily weighted toward one-day races, the UCI overhauled how points were allocated for the World Rankings. The biggest changes came at WorldTour level, most significantly at the Grand Tours and Monuments.
Cyclingnews examined the latest rankings and the points gained during the Giro to see what the new World Rankings system has incentivised and to gauge what we can expect to see during the upcoming Tour de France and beyond.
There is still a long way to go until the next WorldTour relegations in 2026, but the new system appears to be changing the shape of the sport in some subtle but important ways. Teams don’t need a Grand Tour GC contender as badly
The current points system gave even more weight to overall Grand Tour winners – the Tour de France champion earns 1,300 points this year rather than 1,000, and the Giro and Vuelta a España winners earn 1,100 as opposed to 850. However, an expansion in points awarded for stage placings and minor classifications gives more opportunities for teams lacking an overall contender.
Until this season, only the […]
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