UCI Road Team Ranking 2024, conceived and formulated by António Valente Cardoso

2024 is almost ending and the cycling crew is preparing the next year, although a lot of members of the international road peloton are riding the lightning and spectacular cyclocross tour(s).

It is true that the UCI has it's own team ranking, but the formula to compose it is, on my view, precarious and neglective of the team's performances.

For some years now, I've devised my own team ranking, evaluating each team performances based on the top three rides finish, naturally, but doing that to all the races, using the final team ranking in stage events and adding my own team classification in the one day races.

2024 makes a difference as I summed up all the performances of the World Tour, the Pro Tour and the Continental Tours, with coefficients to distinguish them naturally, which puts plus than 700 teams in this ranking, over 600 having points and accounting more than 300 races, using the final rankings and times presented at ProCyclingStats, FirstCycling and the UCI classifications.

The great winner with an enormous margin to the rivals was the UAE-Team Emirates, scoring above 5000 points total, having participated in races of the World Tour, the Pro Tour, the European Tour and the Asian Tour, followed by two French sides, Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale, over a 1000 points below, and Arkéa-B&B Hotels, nearing the 4000!

The Top10 as also Intermarché-Wanty with 3957 and scoring in five of the seven evaluated categories, 5th and 6th are Pro teams, ahead of most of the World Teams, Belgian Lotto Dstny and Norwegian Uno-X Mobility. The giant German project now with the Austrian Red Bull heading it, Red Bull-Bora-hansgr?he, ends 7th and Spanish Movistar Team recovers from a terrible 2023, ahead of 3rd Pro side, Israel-Premier Tech, only not taking part in any race of the American Tour. Closing the ten best sides is French team Groupama-FDJ.

The best team with no score in World Tour events is French Saint Michel-Mavic-Auber 93, also the first under 1000 points, totaling 960, and top of the Continental teams finishing 35th. They did take part in some event but didn't finish it with cyclists to score collectively. Austrian Felt-Felbermayr, 37th, is the first not participating in any World or Pro Tour event in 2024, yet scoring 671 points total!

If Astana Qazaqstan Team is the penultimate of the World Tour sides in our 2024 ranking, its Development Team is the best placed between the feeder sides, claiming 47th place with 473 points, ahead of Israel Premier Tech Academy, 50th tied with Bike Aid, Lidl-Trek Future Racing, 57th, Visma-Lease a Bike Continental, 60th, Lotto Dstny DT 62nd, Soudal Quick Step Devo Team, 63rd, Alpecin-Deceuninck DT, 75th, or Q36.5 Continental 76th.

The first no World or Pro Tour not European side is former Formula 1 Japanese driver side, JCL Ukyo, 44th with 526 points.

The best Portuguese team is Efapel Cycling, summing 160 points and sharing the 114th spot of this ranking with Austrian WSA-KTM Graz.

The downside of this analysis is observing the small amount of races taken place in Africa, several of them cancelled, the same being said in America and Asia, if we compare with the European Continental Tour calendar. Things need to be changed and cycling, which is a world sport, should be developed with strength and stamina worldwide, that is also the best way to discover new talents in other places of the planet.

UAE-Team Emirates retains its 2023 UCI Road Team Ranking by AVC, having below the previous winners since the inception of this ranking, reminding that prior to 2024 the ranking only summed up the performances in World and Pro Tour events, for this ranking, having Continental Tour rankings on the side. The ranking suffered some other adjustments to better and more justly place each team's performance.

2024 - UAE-Team Emirates

2023 - UAE-Team Emirates

2022 - Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert

2021 - Ineos-Grenadiers

2020 - Deceuninck-Quick Step

2019 - Astana Pro Team

2018 - Quick Step-Floors

2017 - BMC Racing Team

PS: We have also established the never before seen

FIVE MONUMENTS OF CYCLING TEAM RANKING

Below are the top three teams in each year:

2017 - BMC Racing Team; Quick Step-Floors; Orica-Scott

2018 - Quick Step-Floors; Mitchelton-Scott; BMC Racing Team

2019 - Bora-hansgr?he; EF Education First; Bahrain-Merida

2020 - EF Pro Cycling; Sunweb; CCC Team

2021 - Deceuninck-Quick Step; Bahrain-Victorious; Ineos-Grenadiers

2022 - Groupama-FDJ; Bahrain-Victorious; Movistar Team

2023 - Jumbo-Visma; Soudal-Quick Step; EF Education-EasyPost

2024 - UAE-Emirates; Groupama-FDJ; Lidl-Trek

Now a question presents itself, you, who follow cycling on detail, know the expected winners, the favorites, but did you think a team classification would present you this results? I don't think so, partially, yes, naturally, but perhaps just a 50/50 thought, no?!?