Spring Statistical Analysis - Nations Ranking

Here's the third and final installment in our statistical analysis of the best teams, riders, and countries of the Spring. Last week we covered teams and riders; here's the breakdown by country:

1. Belgium 1353pts.
2. Italy 1096pts.
3. Spain 947pts.
4. Germany 759pts.
5. Norway 525pts.
6. Netherlands 497pts.
7. Luxembourg 410pts.
8. France 274pts.
9. Australia 270pts.
10. Great Britain 265pts.
11. Russia 236pts.
12. Sweden 128pts.
13. Belorussia 118pts.
14. USA 94pts.
15. Austria 84pts.
16. Czech 79pts.
17. Switzerland 65pts.
18. Kazakhstan 63pts.
19. Canada 56pts.
20. Denmark 30pts.
21. New Zealand 18pts.
22. Slovakia 15pts.

Observations:
1. Again, no surprises at the top of rankings. Belgium wins the title thanks to it’s over-abundance of one-day specialists. Spain’s stage racing abilities launched the nation to third in our ranking. Italy took second thanks to strong showings pretty much everywhere (with surprisingly few wins relative to its storied past). Can you believe Italy didn't win a single monument this year? (Rebellin's Fleche tops the nation's palmares, but can we still count it?)

2. Interesting to see Norway up so high. Hushovd and Boassen Hagen should be proud.

3. AUSTRALIA wins the battle of English-speakers DESPITE Marky Mark’s win in San Remo. (Apologies to my Australian readers for the original oversight.)

4. Hard to imagine Norway, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands before France—but it’s true.

5. One final note as well from our individual rankings posted last week: what ever happened to Greg Van Avermaet? Here’s a six-word memoir that sums it up pretty well: “21 points. No podium. Big disappointment.”

Het Begint!

I’ll never forget the day. Spring 1995. Driving south on route 309 having just left the local Performance Bicycle, the only place near me that sold Velonews. This was still the time when Velonews read more like a newspaper than a magazine. Big sheets of newsprint; ink marks on your fingers. Pearl Jam blaring from my Sony Discman, I looked over to quickly scan the cover. “Ballerini Wins Het Volk.” The headline might have been something different; it probably made mention of “the North” or used a pun to indicate the weather or the terrain. But the gist was the same. Ballerini and Edwig Van Hooydonck graced the cover, riding for Mapei-GB and Novell respectively. Their names alone invoke the passion of all riders from these two great cycling nations. Edwig, the Boss of the Bosberg, was nearing the end of a brilliant career. Franco, a classics king about to be crowned, was nearing the zenith of his. He would win his first Roubaix later that spring.

Needless to say, I was hooked. It was the beginning of what would soon become my favorite part of the season. How fitting to start another new endeavor at this time.

Come back later for some thoughts on this weekend’s events.