2013 World Championships Preview: A Look at the UCI Cyclocross Individual Rankings – Men

With the 2013 Cyclocross World Championships just a week away, the cyclocross geeks at Cyclocross Magazine thought we’d take a look at the UCI cyclocross rankings, starting with the men.  These rankings matter in terms of Worlds in two main ways:  Starting position for each rider, and number of riders per country. The nation’s UCI ranking determines the number of racers you’re allowed to send to the World Championships. Last year, USA was fourth, this year USA sits at fifth, but either position affords us six male cyclocrossers, one more than we had on the 2011 team.

2009 and 2013 World Champ Niels Albert (Belgium) sits atop the UCI rankings, and hopes to stand tallest on the 2013 World Championships’ podium. © Joe Sales

Belgium’s 2009 and 2013 World Champion Niels Albert leads the UCI rankings once again, and is followed by three more Belgians in the form of Kevin Pauwels, Sven Nys and Klaas Vantornout.

Heading into the 2013 Cyclocross World Championships in Louisville, KY, the individual rankings are as listed below. They’re a good indicator of start position for the World Championships as well, although a country like Belgium will have to leave some top-ranked racers behind (like Meeusen, who was left off the 2013 Belgian team in favor of Bart Wellens and was recently involved in a doping investigation).

Jeremy Powers leads the American racers with an 11th place ranking, good for a second row start. Powers is followed by Ryan Trebon in 20th, Tim Johnson in 23rd, Jonathan Page in 28th, Jamey Driscoll in 32th, and Danny Summerhill in 84th.

The one criteria in which the US dominates? It’s in the number of riders with UCI points — testimony to our growth in participation and the number of UCI events held in America. We lead with a whopping 84 racers with at least one UCI point, and it’s not even close. The next countries are Belgium with 50 racers, France with 43 and Spain with 34 racers claiming at least one UCI point.

Check out the top racers and find your favorite workingman pro in the full UCI cyclocross rankings below:

2013 UCI Cyclocross Rankings as of January 26, 2013

Don’t miss our LIVE STREAMING VIDEO of the 2013 Cyclocross World Championships. And for all the latest news, results, photos and videos from the 2013 Cyclocross World Championships and Masters World Championships in Louisville, KY, keep checking our 2013 Cyclocross World Championships page.