Cant, Van der Poel Top the Final 2018/19 Cyclocross UCI Rankings

The 2018/19 cyclocross season wrapped up on Sunday at Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle where Denise Betsema (Marlux – Bingoal) and Kevin Pauwels (Marlux – Bingoal) took home season-ending—and in one case, career-ending—wins.

The race also wraps up the chase for UCI points during the 2018/19 season. Although the UCI rankings do not necessarily indicate the best rider, they do provide a measure of consistency across cyclocross races during the six-month season.

UCI points are awarded on a decreasing scale based on finish, with a Worlds win netting 400 points, a World Cup win getting 200, national and continental championships 100, C1s 80 and C2s 40. The point hauls for wins in some categories are expected to change next season.

Points are totaled over the last 365 days, with a few race caps. A rider’s top six scores from C1s and top eight from C2s are counted, and all World Cups are used in a rider’s total score. With 9 World Cups held in the 2018/19 season, the maximum possible UCI point total was 3,200.

Women’s Rankings

When the final rider crossed the line in Oostmalle, Sanne Cant (IKO – Beobank) was the top woman with 2002 points. Marianne Vos (CCC – Liv) was second with 1996 and Betsema third with 1860.

The top three in the final Women’s UCI rankings. Elite Women. 2019 Hoogerheide World Cup, GP Adri van der Poel. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Kaitie Keough (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) was the top North American in 7th and Ellen Noble (Trek Factory Racing CX) and Maghalie Rochette (CX Fever p/b Specialized) were close behind in 12th and 14th, respectively.

Kaitie Keough finished the season as the top North American woman. Elite Women. 2019 Hoogerheide World Cup, GP Adri van der Poel. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Men’s Rankings

Not surprisingly, Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon – Circus) finished atop the rankings for the Men. He racked up a total of 2,600 points, missing the perfect score because of the three World Cups he skipped during the season.

The Worlds podium reflected the top three UCI point-getters with Wout van Aert (Cibel – Cebon Offroad Team) in second and Toon Aerts (Telenet Fidea Lions) in third.

The World’s podium reflected the final UCI rankings for the season. Elite Men, 2019 Cyclocross World Championships, Bogense, Denmark. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Curtis White (Cannondale p/b CyclocrossWorld) was the top North American in 16th and Kerry Werner (Kona Maxxis Shimano) landed just outside the top 20 in 22nd.

Curtis White finished his best cyclocross season in the top 15 in the UCI rankings. 2019 GP Sven Nys, Baal. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Top 50 Women and Men’s UCI rankings are below. Full rankings are available on uci.org.

Final 2018/19 Women's UCI Rankings Top 50

Final 2018/19 Men's UCI Rankings Top 50