Relegation Watch: Primož Roglič’s Vuelta victory offers Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe wings in UCI rankings

While Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates proceed to dominate the UCI World Rankings for particular person riders and groups, respectively, the interval of the Vuelta a España has precipitated some important shifts within the groups beneath them.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, the fifth-best workforce within the final three-year WorldTour relegation rankings (2020-2022) suffered final yr and ended the season ranked solely tenth. Before the Vuelta, they had been in seventh however, because of Primož Roglič’s general victory they leapfrogged forward of Ineos Grenadiers, Soudal-Quickstep and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale into 4th.

One of the game’s richest groups had few worries about being relegated from the WorldTour, nonetheless, nor did Visma-Lease a Bike, who proceed to be the second-best workforce on the planet, a startling 13,163 factors behind Pogačar’s workforce.

Lidl-Trek continued their ascent towards super-team standing, climbing into third place within the 2024 rankings, helped by Mattias Skjelmose’s fifth place general within the Vuelta a España in addition to high outcomes from Thibau Nys at Tour of Poland and Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen within the Deutschland Tour and Milan within the Renewi Tour.

The hole between Lidl-Trek and Visma-Lease a Bike is a mere fraction of UAE’s huge lead, with 2,914 factors separating the 2 groups. However, Lidl-Trek’s rise remains to be a powerful enchancment on final yr’s sixth place.

The variations between the groups in fourth by way of sixth are a lot tighter – a margin of 1 or two victories.

Soudal-Quickstep slipped one spot into fourth regardless of Mikel Landa taking eighth general, whereas Ineos Grenadiers continued to slip down the rankings into sixth, shedding three locations.

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale even slipped one place into seventh regardless of Ben O’Connor’s breakthrough Grand Tour podium attributable to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s robust rise.

The distinction between Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Decathlon is now 1,014 factors in comparison with the 440-point distinction earlier than the Vuelta. But one should not low cost Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s main enchancment on their 18th place within the 2023 rankings.

Alpecin-Deceuninck path in eighth whereas Lotto Dstny proceed to put up robust outcomes as the perfect ProTeam in ninth, with each groups holding regular on their 2023 rankings.

Groupama-FDJ and Israel-Premier Tech are neck and neck in tenth and eleventh, with EF Education-EasyPost a bit additional behind in twelfth.

Movistar and Jayco-AlUla each climbed two positions into twelfth and 14th however maybe an important enchancment got here from DSM-Firmenich-PostNL, who moved up 4 spots into fifteenth to climb additional away from the relegation zone.

Uno-X Mobility are the third ProTeam within the high 18 of the 2024 rankings, simply 15 factors forward of Bahrain Victorious.

However, due to their robust 2023 season, Bahrain Victorious will not have to fret as a lot in regards to the three-year relegation as Cofidis, who had been fifteenth final season and twentieth to date this yr.

Arkéa-B&B Hotels have much more to be involved about after dropping two locations into nineteenth for the yr, the identical rank they ended 2023 with.

In the mixed 2023-2024 factors, Cofidis have a 1,723-point lead over Arkéa in 18th and, DSM have a 725-point buffer on Cofidis, too. It’s a great distance for Arkéa to go to stay within the WorldTour.

It’s an excellent longer route for Astana Qazaqstan, twenty first for this yr after ending final season in twentieth. They’re at the moment an enormous 4,168 factors behind Cofidis within the two-year totals.

Uno-X Mobility have excessive ambitions to hitch the WorldTour however are at the moment far behind Lotto Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech, who’re virtually sure to rejoin the highest tier of professional biking in 2026.

When it involves the automated invites to the Grand Tours for 2025, Lotto Dstny and Israel-Premier Tech ought to simply hold that honour as the highest two ProTeams of 2024.

The switch season is not over but, and sensible signings could make or break a workforce. Astana have picked up some strong riders in Sergio Higuita, Diego Ulissi and Wout Poels – it simply stays to be seen if they’ll pull the workforce out of the relegation zone.

UCI Team Rankings as of September 10, 2024

2023-2024 Team Rankings