The 2012 UCI World Tour was the fourth edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2009. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 17 January, and consisted of 14 stage races, 14 one-day races, and one team time trial (which only counted towards the team rankings). The Tour of Hangzhou which was originally included in the list of races was postponed until 2013.[1]
| Second edition of the UCI World Tour | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 January – 13 October |
| Location | Europe, Canada, Australia and China |
| Races | 29 |
| Champions | |
| Individual champion | Joaquim Rodríguez (Team Katusha) |
| Teams' champion | Team Sky |
| Nations' champion | Spain |
Teams
The 18 UCI ProTeams competed in the World Tour, with UCI Professional Continental teams, or national squads, able to enter at the discretion of the organisers of each event. The ProTeams, which were obliged to take part in all 29 events, were:
GreenEDGE (known as Orica–GreenEDGE from May onwards) was a new team, while FDJ–BigMat regained ProTour status, which it lost for the previous season. These teams replaced HTC–Highroad, which folded after 21 years, and Team RadioShack, which largely merged with Leopard Trek to form RadioShack–Nissan. A change in sponsorship saw Quick-Step become Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, while 2011's Omega Pharma–Lotto became Lotto–Belisol. Two teams each changed their names twice to reflect changes of sponsorship: Team Saxo Bank reverting to its previous name, having been known as Saxo Bank–SunGard in 2011, before becoming Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank in June; while the serial addition of new sponsors gave rise to the names Garmin–Barracuda and Garmin–Sharp.
Events
All 27 events from the 2011 UCI World Tour were included, and E3 Harelbeke, a one-day race in Belgium, and the World Team Trial Championships, were added.[3]
| Race | Date | Winner | Second | Third | Other points[4] (4th place onwards) | Stage points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tour Down Under | January 17–22 | Simon Gerrans (AUS) | 100 pts |  Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | 80 pts |  Tiago Machado (POR) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
 Paris–Nice | March 4–11 |  Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | 100 pts |  Lieuwe Westra (NED) | 80 pts | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
 Tirreno–Adriatico | March 7–13 | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | 100 pts |  Chris Horner (USA) | 80 pts |  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Milan–San Remo | March 17 | Simon Gerrans (AUS) | 100 pts |  Fabian Cancellara (SWI) | 80 pts | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | N/A |
| Volta a Catalunya | March 19–25 | Michael Albasini (SWI) | 100 pts | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | 80 pts |  Jurgen Van den Broeck (BEL) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| E3 Harelbeke | March 23 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | 80 pts | Óscar Freire (ESP) | 60 pts |  Bernhard Eisel (AUT) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| Gent–Wevelgem | March 25 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | 80 pts |  Peter Sagan (SVK) | 60 pts |  Matti Breschel (DEN) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| Tour of Flanders | April 1 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | 100 pts | Filippo Pozzato (ITA) | 0 pts[5] | Alessandro Ballan (ITA) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | N/A |
| Tour of the Basque Country | April 2–7 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | 100 pts | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 80 pts | Bauke Mollema (NED) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Paris–Roubaix | April 8 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | 100 pts | Sébastien Turgot (FRA) | 0 pts[5] | Alessandro Ballan (ITA) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | N/A |
| Amstel Gold Race | April 15 | Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) | 80 pts | Jelle Vanendert (BEL) | 60 pts | Peter Sagan (SVK) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| La Flèche Wallonne | April 18 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 80 pts | Michael Albasini (SWI) | 60 pts | Philippe Gilbert (BEL) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | April 22 |  Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) | 100 pts | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | 80 pts | Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | N/A |
| Tour de Romandie | April 24–29 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | 100 pts | Andrew Talansky (USA) | 80 pts | Rui Costa (POR) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Giro d'Italia | May 5–27 |  Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) | 170 pts | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 130 pts | Thomas De Gendt (BEL) | 100 pts | 90, 80, 70, 60, 52, 44, 38, 32, 26, 22, 18, 14, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 | 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 |
| Critérium du Dauphiné | June 3–10 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | 100 pts | Michael Rogers (AUS) | 80 pts | Cadel Evans (AUS) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Tour de Suisse | June 9–17 | Rui Costa (POR) | 100 pts |  Fränk Schleck (LUX) | 80 pts | Levi Leipheimer (USA) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Tour de France | June 30 – July 22 |
| 200 pts | Chris Froome (GBR) | 150 pts | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | 120 pts | 110, 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 24, 20, 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 | 20, 10, 6, 4, 2 |
 Tour de Pologne | July 10–16 | Moreno Moser (ITA) | 100 pts | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | 80 pts |  Sergio Henao (COL) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Eneco Tour | August 6–12 | Lars Boom (NED) | 100 pts | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | 80 pts | Niki Terpstra (NED) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | August 14 | Luis León Sánchez (ESP) | 80 pts | Simon Gerrans (AUS) | 60 pts | Gianni Meersman (BEL) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| Vuelta a España | August 18 – September 9 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | 170 pts | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | 130 pts | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 100 pts | 90, 80, 70, 60, 52, 44, 38, 32, 26, 22, 18, 14, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 | 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 |
 Vattenfall Cyclassics | August 19 | Arnaud Démare (FRA) | 80 pts | André Greipel (GER) | 60 pts | Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| GP Ouest-France | August 26 |  Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) | 80 pts | Rui Costa (POR) | 60 pts | Heinrich Haussler (AUS) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| GP de Québec | September 7 | Simon Gerrans (AUS) | 80 pts | Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) | 60 pts | Rui Costa (POR) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| GP de Montréal | September 9 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (NOR) | 80 pts | Moreno Moser (ITA) | 60 pts |  Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS) | 50 pts | 40, 30, 22, 14, 10, 6, 2 | N/A |
| TTT at World Championships[6]† | September 16 | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 200 pts | BMC Racing Team | 170 pts | Orica–GreenEDGE | 140 pts | 130, 120, 110, 100, 90, 80, 70 | N/A |
| Giro di Lombardia | September 29 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | 100 pts | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | 80 pts | Rigoberto Urán (COL) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | N/A |
 Tour of Beijing | October 9–13 | Tony Martin (GER) | 100 pts | Francesco Gavazzi (ITA) | 80 pts | Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) | 70 pts | 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 4 | 6, 4, 2, 1, 1 |
† The World Team Time Trial Championship gives points only in the team rankings, not in the individual or national standings.
Final standings
Individual
Source:[7]
Riders tied with the same number of points were classified by number of victories, then number of second places, third places, and so on, in World Tour events and stages.[8]
| Rank | Name | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP) | Team Katusha | 692 |
| 2 | Bradley Wiggins (GBR) | Team Sky | 601 |
| 3 | Tom Boonen (BEL) | Omega Pharma–Quick-Step | 410 |
| 4 | Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 400 |
| 5 | Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | Movistar Team | 394 |
| 6 | Simon Gerrans (AUS) | Orica–GreenEDGE | 390 |
| 7 | Chris Froome (GBR) | Team Sky | 376 |
| 8 | Peter Sagan (SVK) | Liquigas–Cannondale | 351 |
| 9 | Samuel Sánchez (ESP) | Euskaltel–Euskadi | 332 |
| 10 | Rui Costa (POR) | Movistar Team | 320 |
| 11 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) | Team Sky | 317 |
| 12 | Alberto Contador (ESP) | Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank | 290 |
| 13 | Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) | Garmin–Sharp | 241 |
| 14 | Jurgen Van den Broeck (BEL) | Lotto–Belisol | 237 |
| 15 | Rigoberto Urán (COL) | Team Sky | 199 |
| 16 |  Dan Martin (IRL) | Garmin–Sharp | 196 |
| 17 | Michael Rogers (AUS) | Team Sky | 194 |
| 18 | Bauke Mollema (NED) | Rabobank | 194 |
| 19 | Sergio Henao (COL) | Team Sky | 194 |
| 20 | Roman Kreuziger (CZE) | Astana | 189 |
| 21 | Damiano Cunego (ITA) | Lampre–ISD | 184 |
| 22 | Michele Scarponi (ITA) | Lampre–ISD | 184 |
| 23 | Michael Albasini (SUI) | Orica–GreenEDGE | 183 |
| 24 | Cadel Evans (AUS) | BMC Racing Team | 182 |
| 25 | Óscar Freire (ESP) | Team Katusha | 181 |
- 248 riders scored points. 40 other riders finished in positions that would have earned them points, but they were ineligible as members of non-ProTour teams.[9]
Team
Source:[10]
Team rankings were calculated by adding the ranking points of the top five riders of a team in the table, plus points gained in the World Team Time Trial Championship (WTTT).
Nation
Source:[11]
National rankings were calculated by adding the ranking points of the top five riders registered in a nation in the table. The national rankings as of the 21st event, Clásica de San Sebastián, were used to determine how many riders a country could have in the World Championships.
- Riders from 35 countries scored points.