Stakes higher in 2006

ByEurosport

Published 14/10/2005 at 06:49 GMT

Get set for even more hair-raising sprints in 2006: the world body UCI has upped the amount of Pro Tour points awarded to stage winners on the three major tours. Instead of three points, a stage winner on the Tour de France will earn 10 points, eight on t

Eurosport

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In other stage races that are part of the Pro Tour, a stage win will still be worth three points.

The rules could in fact put an even greater onus on the Tour de France if you consider that Alessandro Petacchi elected to pass on the race to concentrate on his end-of-year preparation for the world championships.

Petacchi would have been the big winner under the new rules thanks to his eight stage wins on the Giro and the Vuelta, going from ninth to fourth in the Pro Tour rankings.

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At the other end of the scale, Jan Ullrich - who passed on the Giro and Vuelta and did not win a stage on the Tour - would slide from third to sixth.

Current UCI Pro Tour standings under 2006 rules:

1) Danilo Di Luca 239 points (position under current rules: 1st/229 points)
2) Tom Boonen 185 (currently 2nd/171)
3) Alexander Vinokourov 150 (currently 5th/136)
4) Alessandro Petacchi (currently 9th/128)
5) Lance Armstrong 146 (currently 4th/139)
6) Jan Ullrich 140 (currently 3rd/140)
7) George Hincapie 136 (currently 8th/129)
8) Levi Leipheimer 131 (currently 6th/131)
9) Bobby Julich 130 (currently 7th/130)
10) Denis Menchov 119 (currently 11th/109)

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