UCI world rankings: The best teams and nations of the 2023 season

Sebastian Lindner

· 29.10.2023

The top 10 of the 2023 UCI Team Ranking: 10th Bora-Hansgrohe

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Photo: DPA Picture Alliance

UAE Team Emirates won the UCI team classification for the first time in 2023. Belgium was once again the best nation. The country ranking has special significance for the Olympic Games in Paris this year.

With 30,958.18 points, UAE Team Emirates won the UCI team ranking introduced in 2019 for the first time. After Jumbo-Visma and Deceuninck - Quick Step alternated in the rankings in previous years, there is now a third team in the leaderboard.

Bora-Hansgrohe behind best Pro Team Lotto Dstny in the world rankings

UAE, who also won the individual ranking with Tadej Pogacar, had around 1300 points more than last year's winner Jumbo-Visma on 17 October. For their part, the Dutch riders have a whopping 11,000 points advantage over the third-placed Soudal-Quick-Step team. The battle for the places behind them was once again much closer.

The best German team in the rankings was Bora-Hansgrohe in 10th place with 13,325.13 points, the only team with World Team status from Germany to finish one place behind the best second-division team, Lotto Dstny. The Belgian Pro Team has thus already laid a good foundation in the 3-year classification, which determines promotion and relegation.

Like Israel-Premier Tech, currently the second-best Pro Team (10,022 points, 16th place) in the world rankings, Lotto was relegated last year. Arkea-Samsic (7,229 points, 19th place) and Astana Qazaqstan Team (7044.44 points, 20th place) are now facing the same fate.

UAE goes for the team ranking right from the start

UAE 2023 achieved 57 victories and 139 podium finishes and is therefore miles away from such worries. Jumbo-Visma celebrated significantly more victories with 69 and almost as many podium finishes (127), including winning all three Grand Tours. UAE, on the other hand, which had set itself the goal of being the best team from the start, rode tactically, did not sacrifice everything for victory and also fought for top 10 places. However, UAE also won two monuments with Pogacar.

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With a good 30,000 points, UAE has about twice as many points on its account this year as the winning teams of previous years. However, this is also due to the fact that the UCI adjusted the regulations for the team ranking before the start of the season. Instead of the points of the best ten riders of a team in the world rankings, the points of the best 20 riders were added together for the 2023 ranking.

The top 10 of the UCI Team Ranking

UAE Team Emirates (United Arab Emirates) 30,958.18 points
Jumbo-Visma (Netherlands) 29,651.45
Soudal - Quick Step (Belgium) 18,697.85
Ineos Grenadiers (Great Britain) 17,794.26
Lidl-Trek (USA) 16,054.45
Bahrain-Victorious (Bahrain) 15,787.81
Groupama-FDJ (France) 14,834.51
Alpecin-Deceuninck (Belgium) 14,517.25
Lotto Dstny (Belgium) 14,112.83
Bora-Hansgrohe (Germany) 13,325.13

Belgium dominates Olympic-relevant nation ranking

For the sixth time since the ranking was reintroduced in 2015, Belgium has come out on top in the Nations Ranking. For the third time in a row, the top eight Belgian professionals, whose points from the world rankings add up to the result of the Nations Ranking, were better than the competition from the other countries.

With more than 4000 points behind, Denmark ranks second ahead of Slovenia. The classic cycling nations such as France, Spain, Italy and Australia are all trailing behind, in some cases by a considerable margin. With 5770.95 points, Germany was only 15th behind Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.

Germany's poor performance in the national rankings will cost it dearly with a view to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The German men will only be represented by two riders in the road race. A maximum of four riders would have been possible in the greatly reduced field of only 90 riders. Germany would have had to finish in the top 10 for an additional starter. In the Olympic time trial, Germany will only be allowed to compete for the medal with one rider.