2004 UCI Road World Cup

The 2004 UCI Road World Cup was the sixteenth and last edition of the UCI Road World Cup. There was no change in the calendar from the 2003 edition, meaning the final seven editions had the same calendar.

2004 UCI Road World Cup
Sixteenth edition of the UCI Road World Cup
Details
DatesMarch 20 – October 16
LocationEurope
Races10
Champions
Individual champion Paolo Bettini (ITA) (Quick-Step–Davitamon)
Teams' championT-Mobile Team

Davide Rebellin of Gerolsteiner took a commanding lead in the standings following an excellent Ardennes campaign, winning both the Amstel Gold Race and the Monument Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Paolo Bettini's consistency through the season, however, saw the rider from Quick Step-Davitamon overhaul Rebellin to claim his third consecutive World Cup crown and the outright record for competition victories. Bettini's excellent form in August had much input into the final standings: three second places in the three races gave Bettini 210 points compared to the 112 points Rebellin accumulated in this time placing Bettini just 6 points behind in second place. On the August weekend without a World Cup race, Bettini won the Gold medal in the Olympic Games road race.

In the team competition, T-Mobile Team edged out Rabobank by a single point after Rabobank had led going into the final round.

The season opener at Milan–San Remo is particularly well remembered. In a sprint finish on the Via Roma, Erik Zabel thought he had done enough to secure victory and raised his arms in celebration. As he did, Óscar Freire was able to overtake him at the line and claim an improbable victory.

Races
Date Race Country Winner Team World Cup leader Leader's team Report
March 20 Milan–San Remo  Italy  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank Report
April 4 Tour of Flanders  Belgium  Steffen Wesemann (GER) T-Mobile Team  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank Report
April 11 Paris–Roubaix  France  Magnus Bäckstedt (SWE) Alessio-Bianchi  Steffen Wesemann (GER) T-Mobile Team Report
April 18 Amstel Gold Race  Netherlands  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner  Steffen Wesemann (GER) T-Mobile Team Report
April 25 Liège–Bastogne–Liège  Belgium  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner Report
August 1 HEW Cyclassics  Germany  Stuart O'Grady (AUS) Cofidis  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner Report
August 7 Clásica de San Sebastián  Spain  Miguel Ángel Martín Perdiguero (ESP) Saunier Duval–Prodir  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner Report
August 22 Züri-Metzgete   Switzerland  Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Fassa Bortolo  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner Report
October 10 Paris–Tours  France  Erik Dekker (NED) Rabobank  Paolo Bettini (ITA) Quick-Step–Davitamon Report
October 16 Giro di Lombardia  Italy  Damiano Cunego (ITA) Saeco Macchine per Caffè  Paolo Bettini (ITA) Quick-Step–Davitamon Report

Final standings

Riders
[1] Rider Team Points
1  Paolo Bettini (ITA) Quick-Step–Davitamon 340
2  Davide Rebellin (ITA) Gerolsteiner 327
3  Óscar Freire (ESP) Rabobank 252
4  Erik Dekker (NED) Rabobank 251
5  Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Fassa Bortolo 140
6  Steffen Wesemann (GER) T-Mobile Team 131
7  Peter Van Petegem (BEL) Lotto–Domo 105
8  Igor Astarloa (ESP) Lampre 96
9  Mirko Celestino (ITA) Saeco Macchine per Caffè 72
10  Léon van Bon (NED) Lotto–Domo 68

Teams
[2] Team Points
1 T-Mobile Team 69
2 Rabobank 68
3 Fassa Bortolo 47
4 Gerolsteiner 47
5 Lotto–Domo 45
6 Saeco Macchine per Caffè 41
7 Quick-Step–Davitamon 37
8 Team CSC 33
9 U.S. Postal Service 26
10 Phonak 25

References
  1. "2004 UCI Road Elite Men World Cup - General Individual Standings". UCI. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  2. "2004 UCI Road Elite Men World Cup - General Team Standings". UCI. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
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