Gesink, Hesjedal up in the World Rankings
This afternoon, the Union Cycliste Internationale announced the latest update to the World Rankings, with the changes affected by the Canadian ProTour races, two one-day GP road races which made their debut this weekend as the first ProTour events in the Americas. The first race, held on Friday in Quebec City, was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen and the second, held on Sunday in Montreal, was won by Robert Gesink, and they have both made significant jumps in the rankings.
"It was terrible pain. In the last kilometre, there was a turn of 180 degrees,” said Gesink. “I had to come to a standstill. That's the last thing your tired legs want to do. The flatter final kilometres were pretty windy, and I was alone. It was a very hard fight and I suffered a lot of pain."
Ryder Hesjedal, however, is perhaps the most remarkable mover in the ranks. The Canadian came out of nowhere for an unexpected seventh-place finish in the Tour de France this year, becoming an overnight celebrity in his home nation as a result. He went to the Canadian races with high hopes, and finished in fourth and third which made him the sixth highest-ranked cyclist in the world.
Gesink finished one spot ahead of Hesjedal in both the Tour de France and the GP Quebec, in sixth and third respectively, to put him in fourth place overall in the World Rankings, behind only the Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, current Vuelta a Espana runner-up and stage winner Joaquin Rodriguez, and World Champion Cadel Evans. Luis Leon Sanchez rounds out the top-five, just ahead of Hesjedal.
“This is the greatest victory so far in my career. It's my first win in a ProTour race and my first victory on a course like this. Above all though, I dug very deep,” said Gesink. “To finish ahead of riders like Hesjedal and Samuel Sanchez, that gives me great satisfaction. Yes, I realize that I've done something special.”
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