With his three stage victories at the beginning of the Vuelta a España, Telekom’s Erik Zabel accrued enough UCI points to move him to the top of the UCI road rankings, displacing former No. 1 Lance Armstrong (U.S. Postal Service), who dropped to fourth. Davide Rebellin (Liquigas-Pata) moved into second place, with fellow Italian Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) third.

Several other riders used the Vuelta to propel themselves upward in the UCI standings, including Oscar Sevilla (Kelme-Costa Blanca), who lost the race on the final day but moved from 30th to sixth in the UCI standings. The man who finished one place further down on the podium, American Levi Leipheimer (U.S. Postal Service), made an even bigger gain, moving up 91 places to go from 123rd to 32nd, into the top 100 for the first time. But neither Sevilla nor Leipheimer could match the rise of José Maria Jimenez. According to the UCI’s Web site, the Vuelta’s best climber, who won three mountain stages, moved up a mind-boggling 290 places, from 348th to 58th in the UCI rankings.

UCI Road Rankings

1. Erik Zabel (G), Telekom, 2220pts

2. Davide Rebellin (I), Liquigas-Pata, 2055

3. Francesco Casagrande (I), Fassa Bortolo, 1714

4. Lance Armstrong (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 1713

5. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre-Daikin, 1644

6. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), Kelme-Costa Blanca, 1499

6. Romans Vainsteins (Lat), Domo-Farm Frites, 1499

8. Erik Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, 1496

9. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, 1471

10. Paolo Bettini (I), Mapei-Quick Step, 1416.20

11. Jan Ullrich (G), Telekom, 1367

12. Dario Frigo (I), Fassa Bortolo, 1335

13. Raimondas Rumsas (Lit), Fassa Bortolo, 1198

14. Jens Voigt (G), Credit Agricole, 1154.50

15. Joseba Beloki (Sp), ONCE-Eroski, 1150 16. Sergei Gontchar (Ukr), Liquigas-Pata, 1085

17. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Ag2R, 1067

18. Andrei Tchmil (B), Lotto-Adecco, 1029

19. Michele Bartoli (I), Fassa Bortolo, 1018.20

20. Laurent Jalabert (F), CSC-Tiscali, 951

21. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Sp), ONCE-Eroski, 924

22. Daniele Nardello (I), Mapei-Quick Step, 921.70

23. Beat Zberg (Swi), Rabobank, 914

24. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Sp), Rabobank, 912

25. David Millar (GB), Cofidis, 907

Other Americans

32. Levi Leipheimer (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 852

53. George Hincapie (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 684

98. Fred Rodriguez (USA), U.S. Postal Service, 439

133. Trent Klasna (USA), Saturn, 347

159. Bobby Julich (USA), Credit Agricole, 313