Ranking
Sean Kelly of Ireland was the first rider to be ranked world number 1 in March 1984 and was the year-end rankings leader for five years from 1984 to 1988 inclusive. The only other rider to come close to Kelly's dominance was Laurent Jalabert who topped the rankings four times, from 1995 to 1997 and again in 1999.
The competition was run in parallel to the UCI Road World Cup, which included 10 UCI races. Both were replaced at the end of the 2004 season with the inauguration of the UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits. A revised version of the ProTour ranking was announced for the 2009 season, renamed UCI World Ranking.
Individual winners
Teams and Nations Winners
| Year | Winner Team | Winner Nation |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 |  Skil–Reydel–Sem–Mavic | No Classification |
| 1985 | Skil–Sem–Kas–Miko | |
| 1986 |  Kas | |
| 1987 | Kas | |
| 1988 | Kas–Canal 10 | |
| 1989 | Super U–Raleigh–Fiat | |
| 1990 |  Chateau d'Ax–Salotti | |
| 1991 | Chateau d'Ax–Gatorade | |
| 1992 | Banesto | |
| 1993 | Banesto | |
| 1994 | Mapei–CLAS | |
| 1995 | Mapei–GB–Latexco | |
| 1996 | Mapei–GB | Italy |
| 1997 | Mapei–GB | Italy |
| 1998 | Mapei–Bricobi | Italy |
| Year | Division I | DIvision II | Division III | Winner Nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  Mapei–Quick-Step |  home–Jack & Jones |  De Nardi–Pasta Montegrappa | Italy |
| 2000 | Mapei–Quick-Step | Euskaltel–Euskadi |  Shaklee | Italy |
| 2001 | Fassa Bortolo | Alessio |  05 Orbitel | Italy |
| 2002 | Mapei–Quick-Step | EDS–Fakta | Mapei-Qick Step Espoirs | Italy |
| 2003 | Fassa Bortolo |  BankGiroLoterij–Batavus |  Action Nvidia–Mróz | Italy |
| 2004 |  T-Mobile Team | Comunidad Valenciana–Kelme | Team Lamonta | Italy |
List of number one ranked riders
| Rider [2] | Start date |
|---|---|
 Sean Kelly (IRL) | March 1, 1984 |
| Charly Mottet (FRA) | May 15, 1989 |
| Laurent Fignon (FRA) | July 23, 1989 |
| Charly Mottet (FRA)(2) | August 6, 1989 |
| Laurent Fignon (FRA)(2) | September 1989 |
| Gianni Bugno (ITA) | June 6, 1990 |
| Claudio Chiappucci (ITA) | June 16, 1991 |
| Gianni Bugno (ITA)(2) | June 1991 |
| Miguel Indurain (ESP) | June 14, 1992 |
 Tony Rominger (SUI) | June 12, 1994 |
| Laurent Jalabert (FRA) | September 25, 1995 |
| Alex Zülle (SUI) | October 10, 1996 |
| Laurent Jalabert (FRA)(2) | October 27, 1996 |
| Alex Zülle (SUI)(2) | March 9, 1997 |
| Laurent Jalabert (FRA)(3) | April 6, 1997 |
| Michele Bartoli (ITA) | October 10, 1998 |
| Laurent Jalabert (FRA)(4) | June 6, 1999 |
| Francesco Casagrande (ITA) | June 4, 2000 |
| Jan Ullrich (GER) | August 20, 2000 |
| Francesco Casagrande (ITA)(2) | September 17, 2000 |
| Davide Rebellin (ITA) | June 10, 2001 |
| Lance Armstrong (USA) | July 1, 2001 |
| Erik Zabel (GER) | September 30, 2001 |
| Erik Dekker (NED) | March 24, 2002 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(2) | April 7, 2002 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(2) | March 23, 2003 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(3) | April 6, 2003 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(3) | June 29, 2003 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(4) | October 5, 2003 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(4) | October 12, 2003 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(5) | February 22, 2004 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(5) | May 9, 2004 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(6) | May 30, 2004 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(6) | June 13, 2004 |
| Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) | June 27, 2004 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(7) | July 25, 2004 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(7) | August 15, 2004 |
| Erik Zabel (GER)(8) | October 3, 2004 |
| Paolo Bettini (ITA)(8) | October 10, 2004 |
| Damiano Cunego (ITA) | October 17, 2004 |
