Following his recent win at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in Spain, the now four-time winner of the race Alberto Contador has moved into second spot overall in the WorldTour rankings, just behind teammate Peter Sagan. In addition to the two top spots in individual rankings, Tinkoff maintains its leadership in the team classification.
 
After securing the top spot of the overall UCI WorldTour team rankings during the cobblestone classics campaign, thanks to the strong results of Peter Sagan paired with Contador's stage race results and several others scoring well too, Sagan has now made it a 1-2 at the top of the rankings, with Tinkoff still holding a strong lead in the team rankings.
 
It was Contador's win at Pais Vasco that gave him the UCI points to move up from third, and the runner up of Paris-Nice and Volta Catalunya now has 280 points, a 58-point lead over third. Tinkoff holds 61-point lead over second place in the team classification.
 
After an exceptionally hard week’s racing, over one of the most mountainous stage races on the UCI WorldTour, Sport Director at Pais Vasco Sean Yates had nothing but praise for Contador and the team.

"He's in great shape and deserves this win after his second places in Algarve, Paris-Nice and Catalunya. We had a few injuries and illness coming into the race and lost three guys along the way but the team stayed solid. Things played into our favour this race, and never taking the leaders jersey worked for us, as we didn't have to ride and defend. And now the stage win is the icing on the cake.”

Saganmaintained his position at the top despite missing out on scoring any points at Paris-Roubaix. The points amassed through his wins at Gent - Wevelgem and Ronde van Vlaanderen, together with his second places at Tirreno - Adriatico and E3 Harelbeke, have put him in a strong position to continue challenging for the top spot as the season goes on.
 
“Compared to last year we have definitely had a good start to the season, with two strong leaders in Peter and Alberto scoring well on two fronts,” explained Sport Director Steven De Jongh. “Of course the team’s strategy is to support these riders in their respective target races, but it is a nice demonstration that the teamwork is paying off.
 
“We had a really good winter, coming together first to build bonds and work on the base, before moving to more specific camps and separate altitude camps with Alberto and Peter, together with other guys. We also spent time working on some changes in the race programme and this has started to pay off. So it’s a real bonus to the results we’ve been achieving, and it shows the momentum we have as a team now.”
 
UCI WorldTour Individual Rankings - as of 13 April 2016
1. Peter Sagan 329
2. Alberto Contador 280
24. Jay McCarthy 68
77. Roman Kreuziger 4
96. Adam Blythe 2