Spanish cycling took all the honors, while Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha, Team Movistar and Spain received their rewards for the best WorldTour rider, team and nation of 2013 respectively. The ceremony took place yesterday in Madrid, and winners were handed their awards by the UCI president Brian Cookson.

It was the third time in his career, and the second consecutive year when Rodriguez has been awarded as the best rider of the UCI individual standings, despite of not having won any of the Grand Tour events. Spanish climber admits that finishing in rankings ahead of Tour the France winners Bradley Wiggins (2012) and Chris Froome (2013) of Sky Procycling gives him strength and motivation to seek for further improvement and continue his adventure of a professional cyclist.

“It gives me strength to go on working and racing," Rodriguez said after receiving an award.

“Purito” secured his top spot in the 2013 UCI individual ranking for second consecutive year, 20 points ahead of Chris Froome, with his victory in Il Lombardia, which concluded the season for the Spaniard, while the Briton eventually did not participated. Earlier in 2013 Rodriguez achieved his first podium of the Tour the France after finding his legs in the ultimate week of the event, finished 4th in Vuelta a Espana, 6th in la Fleche Wallonne, 2nd in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and lost World Championships road race only to Rui Costa, as well as took stage wins in Tour of Oman, Tirreno-Adriatico and in Spanish Grand Tour.

Whilst Spain's award as top ranking nation - the seventh it has received since 2005 - was accepted by Federation president José Luis López Cerrón, Eusebio Unzue of Movistar was present to claim that of best team. His squad had already won the award once before, back in 2008, when it was taken by then sponsor Caisse d'Epargne.

This year, the Movistar team managed to claim victory over their closest rival Sky Procycling in UCI team rankings in the ultimate World Tour event of the season, Tour of Beijing, what means for the British team losing two top spots of rankings concluding the passing season on last possible occasions.

"This is a reward for the entire squad, and that is particularly important in a sport as idiosyncratic as cycling, where team efforts often end up with individual victories. In cycling team prizes have therapeutic value," Unzue said in his ‘acceptance speech'.

"Ever since the start of it in Australia on January and up to the final race in October, in China, which was our last chance to conquer the win and where we were fortunate enough to overtake Sky in the standings."