August 29, 2007 – Here are the latest UCI ProTour rankings. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas is still in the lead with a total of 207 points. Alberto Contador (Esp) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team is in second spot, followed by Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne in third.

1. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 207
2. Alberto Contador Velasco (Esp) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 191
3. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 190
4. Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 174
5. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 172
6. Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 129
7. Oscar Freire Gomez (Esp) Rabobank 125
8. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 118
9. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse D’Epargne 115
10. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 115
11. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 110
12. Christophe Moreau (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 88
13. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 87
14. Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Csc 86
15. Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 85
16. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Csc 81
17. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Csc 79
18. Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Csc 78
19. Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Predictor-Lotto 77
20. Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 76
21. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana 74
22. Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval – Prodir 71
23. Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Liquigas 70
24. Leif Hoste (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 70
25. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 69
26. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 67
27. Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Astana 66
28. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Esp) Saunier Duval – Prodir 64
29. Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram 63
30. David Lopez Garcia (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 62
31. Carlos Sastre Candil (Esp) Team Csc 62
32. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval – Prodir 62
33. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step – Innergetic 58
34. Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 57
35. Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 56
36. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram 56
37. José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 54
38. Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Astana 54
39. Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 54
40. Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 53
41. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 50
42. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 48
43. Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 48
44. Roger Hammond (Gbr) T-Mobile Team 45
45. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 45
46. David Millar (Gbr) Saunier Duval – Prodir 43
47. Allan Davis (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 43
48. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Rabobank 42
49. Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 42
50. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 42
51. Erik Larsson Gustav (Swe) Unibet.Com 41
52. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) T-Mobile Team 40
53. David Zabriskie (USA) Team Csc 38
54. Christopher Horner (USA) Predictor-Lotto 37
55. Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas 36
56. Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 35
57. Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 35
58. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole 35
59. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-Mobile Team 34
60. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 34
61. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 33
62. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Team Csc 32
63. Roberto Petito (Ita) Liquigas 31
64. David Arroyo Duran (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 31
65. Oscar Pereiro Sio (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 31
66. Manuel Garate Juan (Esp) Quick Step – Innergetic 30
67. Björn Leukemans (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 30
68. Matteo Carrara (Ita) Unibet.Com 30
69. Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Csc 30
70. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 30
71. Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 29
72. Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 29
73. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval – Prodir 29
74. Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 27
75. Francisco Jos̩ Ventoso Alberdi (Esp) Saunier Duval РProdir 22
76. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse D’Epargne 22
77. Chris Sörensen (Den) Team Csc 20
78. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 20
79. Igor Anton Hernandez (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 19
80. Iban Mayo Diez (Esp) Saunier Duval – Prodir 19
81. Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 18
82. S̩bastien Rosseler (Bel) Quick Step РInnergetic 18
83. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Esp) Liquigas 17
84. Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française Des Jeux 15
85. Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Esp) Quick Step – Innergetic 15
86. Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick Step – Innergetic 15
87. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 15
88. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Unibet.Com 15
89. Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15
90. C̩dric Vasseur (Fra) Quick Step РInnergetic 15
91. Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux 15
92. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 15
93. Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 13
94. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas 13
95. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2R Prevoyance 11
96. Harley Goss Matthew (Aus) Team Csc 11
97. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) T-Mobile Team 11
98. Bobby Julich (USA) Team Csc 10
99. Inigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 10
100. Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 10
101. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana 10
102. Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Csc 10
103. Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team Csc 10
104. Linus Gerdemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team 10
105. George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 10
106. Christian Vandevelde (USA) Team Csc 10
107. Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team Csc 10
108. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 9
109. Patxi Javier Vila Errandonea (Esp) Lampre-Fondital 9
110. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Unibet.Com 8
111. Marco Pinotti (Ita) T-Mobile Team 8
112. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 8
113. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Team Milram 8
114. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team Milram 8
115. Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Team Milram 8
116. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 8
117. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 8
118. Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram 8
119. Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 8
120. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team Csc 8
121. Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 8
122. Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram 8
123. Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank 7
124. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 7
125. Baden Cooke (Aus) Unibet.Com 7
126. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 7
127. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital 7
128. Steven Cummings (Gbr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7
129. Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Esp) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7
130. Miguel Moreira Paulinho Sergio (Por) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7
131. Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Esp) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7
132. Fuyu Li (Chn) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7
133. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step – Innergetic 6
134. Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 6
135. Francisco Perez Sanchez (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 6
136. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas 6
137. Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 6
138. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas 6
139. Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas 6
140. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 6
141. Vicente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 5
142. Xavier Florencio Cabre (Esp) Bouygues Telecom 5
143. Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 5
144. Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step – Innergetic 5
145. Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) Quick Step – Innergetic 5
146. Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 5
147. Laurent Mangel (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 5
148. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Credit Agricole 5
149. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 5
150. Christophe Kern (Fra) Credit Agricole 5
151. Axel Merckx (Bel) T-Mobile Team 5
152. Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse D’Epargne 4
153. Nicolas Portal (Fra) Caisse D’Epargne 4
154. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 4
155. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole 4
156. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 4
157. Jos̩ Angel Gomez Marchante (Esp) Saunier Duval РProdir 4
158. Florent Brard (Fra) Caisse D’Epargne 4
159. José Antonio Redondo Ramos (Esp) Astana 4
160. Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner 3
161. Koldo Gil Perez (Esp) Saunier Duval – Prodir 3
162. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas 3
163. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 3
164. Mads Kaggestad (Nor) Credit Agricole 3
165. Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step – Innergetic 3
166. Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Credit Agricole 3
167. Jean-Patrick Nazon (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 3
168. Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3
169. Martin Elmiger (Sui) Ag2R Prevoyance 3
170. Luciano Andr̩ Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval РProdir 3
171. Koldo Fernandez (Esp) Euskaltel – Euskadi 3
172. Antonio Fischer Murilo (Bra) Liquigas 3
173. Michael Albasini (Sui) Liquigas 3
174. Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Csc 3
175. Rasilla David De La Fuente (Esp) Saunier Duval – Prodir 3
176. Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 3
177. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3
178. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Credit Agricole 3
179. Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Credit Agricole 3
180. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 3
181. Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana 3
182. Antonio Colom Mas (Esp) Astana 3
183. Alessandro Proni (Ita) Quick Step – Innergetic 3
184. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
185. Fabio Baldato (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 2
186. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 2
187. Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2
188. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 2
189. Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
190. Matti Breschel (Den) Team Csc 2
191. Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Team Milram 2
192. Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 2
193. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
194. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 2
195. Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone 2
196. Bert Roesems (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
197. Nick Ingels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
198. Tom Steels (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
199. Dominique Cornu (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 2
200. Aaron Kemps (Aus) Astana 2
201. Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana 2
202. Constantino Zaballa Gutierrez (Esp) Caisse D’Epargne 2
203. Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 2
204. Fred Rodriguez (USA) Predictor-Lotto 2
205. Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas 2
206. Alexandre Usov (Blr) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
207. Mario Aerts (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 1
208. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Predictor-Lotto 1
209. Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1
210. Anders Lund (Den) Team Csc 1
211. Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 1
212. Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1
213. Nicolas Rousseau (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
214. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
215. Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française Des Jeux 1
216. José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Esp) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
217. Stéphane Goubert (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
218. Ludovic Turpin (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
219. Iker Camano Ortuzar (Esp) Saunier Duval – Prodir 1
220. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1
221. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1
222. Cyril Dessel (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1
223. Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux 1
224. Sébastien Joly (Fra) Française Des Jeux 1
225. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2R Prevoyance 1

April 10, 2007 – After the second major Classic of the season, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Alberto Contador continues to lead in the ProTour rankings – but now the one-day specialists are breathing down his neck.

The 24-year-old Paris-Nice winner is still three points clear of his closest pursuer Andreas Klöden of Astana, but in the short-term future, the cobbled Classics riders are currently the most dangerous threat to his month-long lead in the ProTour.

Alessandro Ballan is one such challenger. His last-minute lunge for the line in the Ronde van Vlaanderen did not just earn the Italian the first major Classic of his career: it has also propelled the Lampre pro into fourth place overall in the ProTour classification, six points behind Contador.

At the same time, Belgian Leif Hoste, just behind Ballan in the dramatic two-up sprint that decided the 259 kilometre Ronde, has moved up to seventh overall, with 40 points.

But Ballan and Hoste are not the only Classics stars that Contador has to worry about.

Tom Boonen may have had a below-expectations performance in Flanders – he crashed early on and suffered wrist and knee injuries, then struggled to respond to Ballan’s attack on the Mur de Grammont. But despite sliding from 9th overall to 11th in the ProTour rankings, Boonen is still only 19 points down on Contador.

Luca Paolini, who took third in Flanders, is just one point further adrift and will also be looking to up his ProTour position in the short-term future.

All four riders may start Gent-Wevelgem this Wednesday, the mid-week cobbled Classic which Boonen won four years ago and which suits the Belgian down to the ground.

Should he start, both Boonen and Hoste – now three times second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen – will be itching for revenge after their defeat in the Ronde.

With or without Boonen and Hoste, Wevelgem’s final result is often influenced by the double assault of the steep cobbled climb of the Kemmelburg, 40 kilometres from the finish, and expectations in Belgium will be high that both of their ProTour teams, Quick Step and Predictor-Lotto, try to make a decisive move there to restore local pride.

At the same time, fifth and sixth place in Flanders by Contador’s Discovery Channel team-mates, Russian Vladimir Gusev and Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus, have helped propel the American squad into the overall lead of the teams classification. It will be up to Gusev and Vaitkus, both talented one-day riders, to attempt to maintain their privileged position in Gent-Wevelgem.

Should there be another Italian victory in Wevelgem, however, the chances are Spain will also lose control of the ProTour nations classification. Ballan’s win in Flanders and Luca Paolini’s third place on the podium have contributed to the Italians’ move to within striking position of the Spanish, just 12 points behind.

However, with Alberto Contador taking part in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, which is taking place this week in Spain, the Spaniard may have a chance to regain lost terrain. Whatever happens, it looks like being a fascinating April for the ProTour.

Individual Ranking

1. CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto (Esp) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 56 points
2. KLÖDEN Andreas (Ger) ASTANA 53
3. FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar (Esp) RABOBANK 52
4. BALLAN Alessandro (Ita) LAMPRE-FONDITAL 50
5. REBELLIN Davide (Ita) GEROLSTEINER 42
6. KIRCHEN Kim (Lux) T-MOBILE TEAM 41
7. HOSTE Leif (Bel) PREDICTOR-LOTTO 40
8. DAVIS Allan (Aus) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 40
9. VINOKOUROV Alexandre (Kaz) ASTANA 38
10. SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon (Esp) CAISSE D’EPARGNE 38
11. BOONEN Tom (Bel) QUICK STEP – INNERGETIC 37
12. PAOLINI Luca (Ita) LIQUIGAS 36
13. SCHUMACHER Stefan (Ger) GEROLSTEINER 35
14. MCEWEN Robbie (Aus) PREDICTOR-LOTTO 33
15. KROON Karsten (Ned) TEAM CSC 30
16. VALJAVEC Tadej (Slo) LAMPRE-FONDITAL 30
17. O’GRADY Stuart (Aus) TEAM CSC 29
18. PELLIZOTTI Franco (Ita) LIQUIGAS 28
19. GUSEV Vladimir (Rus) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 25
20. BRAJKOVIC Janez (Slo) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 25
21. LOPEZ GARCIA David (Esp) CAISSE D’EPARGNE 23
22. VAITKUS Tomas (Ltu) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 20
23. ZABEL Erik (Ger) TEAM MILRAM 20
24. VOIGT Jens (Ger) TEAM CSC 20
25. NUYENS Nick (Bel) COFIDIS, LE CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 15
26. EVANS Cadel (Aus) PREDICTOR-LOTTO 15
27. MURAVYEV Dmitriy (Kaz) ASTANA 10
28. PETACCHI Alessandro (Ita) TEAM MILRAM 10
29. SCHLECK Frank (Lux) TEAM CSC 10
30. BOOGERD Michael (Ned) RABOBANK 7
31. RICCO Riccardo (Ita) SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR 6
32. REYNES MIMO Vicente (Esp) CAISSE D’EPARGNE 5
33. SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel (Esp) EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 5
34. RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin (Esp) CAISSE D’EPARGNE 3
35. BENNATI Daniele (Ita) LAMPRE-FONDITAL 3
36. POPOVYCH Yaroslav (Ukr) DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM 3
37. FERNANDEZ Koldo (Esp) EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 3
38. MILLAR David (GBr) SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR 3
39. BONO Matteo (Ita) LAMPRE-FONDITAL 3
40. KOLOBNEV Alexandr (Rus) TEAM CSC 3
41. NAZON Jean-Patrick (Fra) AG2R PREVOYANCE 3
42. VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco Jos̩ (Esp) SAUNIER DUVAL РPRODIR 2
43. GASPAROTTO Enrico (Ita) LIQUIGAS 2
44. KREUZIGER Roman (Cze) LIQUIGAS 2
45. LORENZETTO Mirco (Ita) TEAM MILRAM 2
46. SIEDLER Sebastian (Ger) TEAM MILRAM 2
47. HUSHOVD Thor (Nor) CREDIT AGRICOLE 1
48. HAYMAN Mathew (Aus) RABOBANK 1
49. KRAUSS Sven (Ger) GEROLSTEINER 1
50. PINEAU Jérôme (Fra) BOUYGUES TELECOM 1
51. VISCONTI Giovanni (Ita) QUICK STEP – INNERGETIC 1
52. JOLY Sébastien (Fra) FRANÇAISE DES JEUX 1
53. DUMOULIN Samuel (Fra) AG2R PREVOYANCE 1

Team Ranking

1. DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM USA 71
2. TEAM CSC DEN 66
3. LIQUIGAS ITA 61
4. CAISSE D’EPARGNE ESP 53
5. ASTANA SUI 45
6. LAMPRE-FONDITAL ITA 45
7. PREDICTOR-LOTTO BEL 45
8. TEAM MILRAM ITA 42
9. AG2R PREVOYANCE FRA 42
10. T-MOBILE TEAM GER 42
11. SAUNIER DUVAL – PRODIR ESP 40
12. COFIDIS, LE CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE FRA 39
13. RABOBANK NED 37
14. QUICK STEP – INNERGETIC BEL 35
15. CREDIT AGRICOLE FRA 20
16. UNIBET.COM SWE 19
17. FRANÇAISE DES JEUX FRA 16
18. BOUYGUES TELECOM FRA 16
19. GEROLSTEINER GER 16
20. EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI ESP 15