It's true that the season has barely started, it's true that the major races are yet to come, it's all true, but one cannot deny that seeing Christian Scaroni at the top of the UCI seasonal ranking is a pleasant surprise. The rider from Brescia is the cover face of a revitalized XDS Astana, which is second in the team ranking, only behind a UAE Team Emirates-XRG that seems to be from another planet.

Let's focus on Scaroni: 3 victories in 12 days of racing, the Classic Var and a stage and the overall classification of Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, but also 3 second places, at the Classica Comunitat Valenciana, Trofeo Calvià, and Trofeo Laigueglia, a third place at Vuelta a Murcia, and two fifth places at GP Castellon and Faun-Ardèche Classic. These might not be major classics, of course, but the opponents were top-tier, and Christian held his own with great authority, showing a significant quality leap compared to last year.

The top spot in the UCI ranking is a logical consequence of this sprint start to the season. No one expects him to remain at the top, but the points he's accumulating are pure gold for his team and for the entire Italian cycling movement, which ranks 4th in the UCI ranking.

2025 UCI Individual Ranking as of March 6

1. Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana) 507 points
2. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) 405 pts
3. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) 386 pts
4. Javier Romo (Movistar) 375 pts
5. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) 370 pts
6. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 369 pts
7. Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates) 368 pts
8. Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 350 pts
9. Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) 317 pts
10. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) 299 pts

XDS Astana, for its part, has started its race for survival in the best possible way, driven not only by Scaroni but also by Clement Champoussin, Lorenzo Fortunato, and Aaron Gate above all, who have been consistently well-placed in these early season races. In the three-year ranking that will close at the end of 2025, which will determine promotions and relegations, the Kazakh team currently occupies 21st place and will need to climb to 18th to remain in the WorldTour.

2025 UCI Team Ranking as of March 6

1. UAE Team Emirates-XRG 2952 points
2. XDS Astana 1752 pts
3. Lidl Trek 1554 pts
4. Movistar 1427 pts
5. Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe 1290 pts

THREE-YEAR RANKING 2023-2025

1. UAE Team Emirates-XRG 72462 pts
2. Visma | Lease a Bike 51098 pts
3. Soudal-QuickStep 38217 pts
…
14. Israel-PremierTech 22806 pts
15. Jayco AlUla 22657 pts
16. Intermarchè-Wanty 21223 pts
17. Team Picnic PostNL 19828 pts
18. Cofidis 19444 pts
19. Arkéa-B&B Hotels 16772 pts
20. Uno-X Mobility 16681 pts
21. XDS Astana 16666 pts