SPECIAL | The 20 riders that have moved up the UCI rankings the most in 2024

The UCI rankings and points are as important as ever, specially recently when they have become the primary factor to decide which teams are part of the World Tour and which teams receive wildcards for the races. Teams are more focused than ever in the points obtained during races and in this article we take a look at the 20 riders who have climbed up the standings the most when comparing December 2023 to December 2024.

This list includes riders that are close to the top of the charts of the UCI standings, but mainly figures that have instead have massive breakthrough or return seasons in 2024. It takes an important mix between obtaining big results but also having a rather under-the-radar 2023 season. This would include riders that have suffered from injuries or illnesses in 2023 and bounced back in style this year.

Our Top10 opens up with Algerian rider Azzedine Lagab. Outside of the European calendar there are many UCI points to be won, specially if certain riders move away from the traditional scene and search for leadership and UCI points. Lagab is not this case specifically, but instead the 38-year old benefits from being one of the top riders in the African Tour.

Lagab, part of the continental Madar Pro Cycling Team, has had a stellar season where he consistently performed in the continent. He was 4th at the African Games Road Race; 3rd at the Tour National de Sidi bel Abbes; 4th at the Tour International des Zibans; 2nd at the Tour du Bénin; 5th at the Tour d'Algérie; was double national champion in his nation; 3rd at the Tour of Salalah and 4th at the GP Chantal Biya. This provided him with enough points to climb up the ranks and appear so prominently on this list.

In 9th spot we move to our first World Tour rider, Alex Baudin. The Frenchman has an interesting story, as he was disqualified from the 2023 Giro d'Italia due to a positive test for Tramadol. However his points from the rest of the season counted, but they were very little. It was only this year that the Decathlon rider broke through as a quality climber. He was second at the French opener, the GP La Mardeillaise, and popped up strongly with a Top10 at the Itzulia Basque Country. He was fourth on the first stage of the Giro d'Italia which temporarily saw him lead the youth classification.

Baudin experienced a very strong end to the year, winning the Tour du Limousin, finishing second at the Coppa Bernocchi and third at the World Tour-ranked Tour of Guangxi. He will race for EF Education-EasyPost next year.

The Equipo Kern Pharma rider turned pro in 2022 after a few years in the Spanish amateur scene, but this year was the most important of his career thus far. The sprinter is also capable of handling hilly terrain, and used this ability to consistently score UCI points throughout the year. He was the most visible at the Vuelta a España where the team won three stages, and where he featured on the Top5 on four different sprint stages.

The Italian classics rider was a bet of Bahrain back in 2022, and this year it began to pay off quite a bit. After learning from his experienced leaders, this season Zambanini began to have his own chances to lead the team after proving himself in the peloton. He was very close to taking his first pro win at Itzulia Basque Country; later in the year he would finish 7th at the Tour de Pologne which earned him lots of UCI points. He also finished third in the Italian national championships, Top10 in both Canadian classics and 4th at the Cro Race close to the end of the season.

Movistar took a bet on Javier Romo in 2024, turning him from a domestique at Astana to a rider with freedom in the Spanish outfit. A former triathlete who in the meantime showed himself as a quality stage-racer in the elite peloton. His most prominent result of the year was his 12th spot in the highly mountainous and Tour de France-contender rich peloton; but he performed well throughout the whole year and scored several results that definitely highlighted his potential as a climber.

Israel - Premier Tech signed Joseph Blackmore into it's development team this year, although the Briton ultimately performed better than most elite level riders. The team was quick to pass him onto the World Tour team in August. Blackmore was the winner of the Tour de l'Avenir, showcasing his talent as a climber and stage-racer. But actually, it was in the classics that he appeared at his best throughout the year.

The 21-year old won the Tour of Rwanda and Tour de Taiwan, his first two races of the year, and in Europe he immediately left a mark as well by winning the Circuit des Ardennes. Racing as part of the elite team but as an under-23 rider, he finished 4th at the Brabantse Pijl despite riding in support of leader Dylan Teuns. Days after he won the under-23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, making him an undeniable world-class talent. At the end of the season, Blackmore already led the elite team at the Tour of Britain where he was fifth, before finishing in the same position at the under-23 World Championships.

The South American calendar is another one that provides riders with a lot of potential to evolve, specially in an environment where World Tour teams are rarely present. In 2019, Paredes tested positive for EPO and was suspended to 4 years. In 2023 he returned to racing with the Team Medellín - EPM team, which was also home to Miguel Ángel López' team at the time, obtaining results quickly.

In 2024 Paredes won several races in North and South America, leaving his mark in several of the races he passed through.

A quality climber, but Amaury Capiot had his 2023 almost fully ruined due to a knee injury. He started competition only in August but did not manage to score results. However in 2024 he returned to his best level. The Arkéa rider won a stage at the Tour of Oman and over the year scored important UCI points for the team in a mix of one-day races and stage-races, as he always has in the past. It was a season with a decent score, despite fracturing his collarbone in a crash back in February, and then fracturing his pelvis and sacrum in a crash at the Tour de France caused by Maxim van Gils, in which Capiot still holds quite a bit of frustration over the lack of an apology.

One of the leaders of the Uno-X team, but in 2022 and 2023 Markus Hoelgaard simpy did not bring in the results he had hoped for. 2024 was a return to the top for the 30-year old who climbed over 2000 spots in the UCI rankings. This was the result of his win in the Norwegian national champions and soon after a stage at the Tour de Wallonie. In his national champion's jersey he also won the Tour of Leuven and surprised to a 14th place at the Zurich World Championships.

The man of the moment - one of them - and likely a man for the future. Niklas Behrens is an unsurprisingly feature in this list and has climbed 2238 spots in the past 12 months. The reason is not because of injuries or illnesses, but rather because he was not a professional rider and was even scouted through social media. Having been tracked and signed by Lidl-Trek's development team, it quickly brought out his true talent. Behrens is now the reigning under-23 World Champion, a victory that was made incredibly impressive by the fact that he won a very hilly race weighing in a reported 80Kg and measuring 1.95 meters in height.

A figurative monster on the bike, who pushes wattages that most pros can't even reach, at age 21. Throughout the season he won several races but it were the World Championships that brought him to the spotlight. Team Visma | Lease a Bike already secured the German talent for the next three seasons.