UCI WorldTour rankings 2018: Who leads the standings following Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo races?

Tirreno-Adriatico may have lost some of its fizz by the time the race reached San Benedetto del Tronto, but when the WorldTour arrived in Sanremo on Saturday few were left complaining with the outcome of the season's opening monument.

Respective wins for Michal Kwiatkowski and Vincenzo Nibali saw both riders climb the standings, but there were others, too, who broke into the top 10 of the UCI individual rankings. 

It was Kwiatkowski, though, who was the biggest winner with regards to points having won the opening Italian stage race of the WorldTour season, though the millions who willed Nibali on towards the finishing line on Via Roma will contest that the Bahrain-Merida riders' victory was more memorable and, indeed, dramatic.

But who else performed in Italy last week and moved up the rankings, what does the top 10 now look like, who was the biggest climber and who is the best-placed British rider?

UCI WorldTour individual rankings: Top 10

10. Arnaud Démare (Fra)
Groupama-FDJ: 465pts
Movement in rankings: Up 31 places*

The Frenchman's decent start to the season continued at Milan-Sanremo where the former winner of La Classicissima managed to take the third spot on the podium. Will be buoyed by a strong team performance ahead of this week's E3 Harelbeke and Ghent-Wevelgem.

9. Simon Yates (GB)
Mitchelton-Scott: 470pts
Movement in rankings: Down two places

Unsurprisingly dropped down the rankings as the Bury rider took time off ahead of making his debut at this week's Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.

8. Gorka Izagirre (Spa)
Bahrain-Merida: 500pts
Movement in rankings: Down two places

Another rider who had a quiet week in preparation for next month's lumpy Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco where the Basque rider will be looking to make his mark following an impressive start to the season.

7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa)
Movistar:515pts
Movement in rankings: Down two places

The veteran Spaniard once again did not not turn a pedal in anger as he prepared for this week's Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Following a decent start to the season remains favourite to dominate the Ardennes classics.

6. Marc Soler (Spa)
Movistar: 545pts
​Movement in rankings: Down four places

After his mightily impressive performance at this month's Paris-Nice took a week off ahead of Volta Ciclista a Catalunya where the young Spaniard will be riding in support of team leader Alejandro Valverde.

5. Caleb Ewan (Aus)
Mitchelton-Scott: 549.57pts
Movement in rankings: Up 34 places

The young Aussie produced arguably the performance of his career at Milan-Sanremo where the Mitchelton-Scott beat the likes of Arnaud Démare and Alexander Kristoff to the finishing line on Via Roma. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, though, a certain Vincenzo Nibali had already sneaked off the front of the bunch before taking line honours at the one and only monument suited to the natural sprinters. 

4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
Bahrain-Merida:570pts
Movement in rankings: Up 65 places

In hindsight it all seemed so obvious, it was almost as if the rider nicknamed the Shark of Messina was telegraphing his race plan for the world to see. As the race neared its conclusion towards the business end of the longest one-day race on the WorldTour calendar, Vincenzo Nibali made himself visible before, almost forcibly, taking his position at the front and launching what turned out to be the decisive attack off the Poggio, the final climb of the day. The renowned descender dropped down into Sanremo with the leading sprinters in pursuit for what felt like an eternity before crossing the line, arms raised, to end Italy's 12-year wait for a victory on Via Roma while also claiming back-to-back monuments following his similar move at Il Lombardia last October. Utterly thrilling conclusion to a race that lasted over seven hours.

3. Tiesj Benoot (Bel)
Lotto-Soudal: 586pts
Movement in rankings: Down one place

After producing one of the rides of the season so far at Strade Bianche at the beginning of the month, the young Belgian proved there's more to him than brave solo attacks when he 24-year-old finished fourth overall at Tirreno-Adriatico while also taking the youth classification.

2. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol)
Team Sky: 613.43pts
Movement in rankings: Up two places

After winning Tirreno-Adriatico where the Pole added 500 points to his tally to see him rocket into the top 10, Kwiatkowski ​failed to pull off a repeat result at Milan-Sanremo which would have assured him top spot in the WorldTour rankings. Following the pre-race posturing when the former world road race champion entered into a war of words with Peter Sagan over the tactics employed at last year's race when Kwiatkowski jumped Sagan at the last the two pre-race favourites, as they did at Strade Bianche earlier this month, ended up marking each other out of the race. Despite previously claiming he has no desire to compete as a general classification rider and is happy to support team-mate Chris Froome, could turn out to be one of Team Sky's main men this season.

1. Daryl Impey (SA)
Mitchelton-Scott: 833.57pts
​​Movement in rankings: None

The South Africa national road and time trial champion popped up near the head of Milan-Sanremo briefly on Saturday as he put in a shift for team-mate Caleb Ewan who eventually finished second and even managed to scoop up a further 20 WorldTour points after finishing 21st on Via Roma. Earlier in the week finished 45th at Tirreno-Adriatico but is still hanging on to his top spot in the rankings thanks to an early-season burst that saw the 33-year-old win at the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race back in January.

Biggest climber of the week

Jurgen Roelandts (Bel)
BMC Racing: 235pts
Movement in rankings: Moved up 147 places to 33rd

The 32-year-old Belgian claimed his second top-five finish at Milan-Sanremo to earn himself 225 WorldTour points and will be hoping he can carry the good form into the cobbled classics later this week and beyond.

Highest placed Briton

Simon Yates (GB)
Mitchelton-Scott: 470pts
Movement in rankings: Down two places to 9th overall

The Mitchelton-Scott rider remains the highest placed Briton in the rankings, though would have lost it had Geraint Thomas kept hold of his leader's jersey at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Team Sky rider, somewhat predictably though, suffered a mechanical at the most inopportune moment in the final kilometre of the fourth stage while former team-mate Mikel Landa coasted off to the stage win. 

* UCI updated their rankings midweek following Tirreno-Adriatico, though Telegraph Sport will be publishing rankings following each Monday or Tuesday.