Nairo Quintana (Photo: El Espectador)
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Colombia’s Nairo Quintana takes top spot in global cycling ranking

by Nina Damsgaard

Nairo Quintana’s victory in the Giro d’Italia race on Sunday shot the Colombian rider to the top of the global road cycling ranking.

The 24-year-old Colombian who was the first latino to ever win the three-week race Giro d’Italia is also — for the first time in his career — the new leader of the UCI World Tour’s individual rankings.

World Tour rankings top 5

  1. Nairo Quintana
  2. Alberto Contador
  3. Simon Gerrans
  4. Alejandro Valverde
  5. Fabian Cancellara

Thanks to his Giro d’Italia victory and a score of 208 points, Quintana moved from a 14th place with 137 points into the top spot with 345 points overall.

Spain’s Alberto Contador dropped a place to second, with 308 points, whilst Simon Gerrans drops to third, with 264 points.

MORE: Colombia’s Nairo Quintana Wins 2014 Giro D’Italia, Rigoberto Uran 2nd

Quintana competed in the Vuelta a Cataluña and the Tirreno Adriatico races in 2014, where he gained 137 points before he reached the top in the Giro d’Italia.

Quintana is the second Colombian to ever win one of Europe’s great cycling races; his compatriot Luis Herrera was the first when he won the Vuelta d’España in 1987.

Sources