WorldTour ranking: 1st (Same as last year)
Win count: 32 (Down from 33)
Top riders: Alejandro Valverde (first) Nairo Quintana (third), Jon Izagirre (30th), Andrey Amador (50th) and Benat Intxausti (53rd).
For the third year running, Movistar dominated the WorldTour rankings and sailed to victory in the team classification. Alejandro Valverde’s win over Joaquim Rodriguez in the individual standings gave them their second consecutive double.
Despite turning 35 earlier this year, Valverde proved again to be the source of much of the team’s success. Nairo Quintana’s victories at the Tour de France and Tirreno-Adriatico saw him end the season third in the WorldTour standings, while Jon Izaguirre’s surprise Tour de Pologne win contributed greatly to their overall performance.
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Consistency and being able to rely on two strong leaders has been the key for the Spanish outfit in retaining their position at the top of the WorldTour rankings in 2015. While they have 22 fewer victories than Etixx-QuickStep, who top those particular standings, they have placed highly in key races throughout the season and their double podium at the Tour de France gave them more points than Chris Froome earned for winning it overall.
Among the team’s high points where Quintana’s overall win at Tirreno-Adriatico and Valverde’s victories at Fleche Wallonne and Liege Bastogne Liege – their first monument win since Valverde won the same event in 2008. Alex Dowsett’s brief stint as the World Hour record holder was another highlight for the team. Other key performers this year were Benat Intxausti, Jon Izagirre, Adriano Malori and Juan Jose Lobato. Movistar also earned their first World Championship medal when they finished third in the team time trial in Richmond.
It can’t be glossed over, however, that they failed to add a Grand Tour victory to their total in 2015. They were undoubtedly the strongest overall team at the Tour de France but perhaps their decision to hedge their bets between Quintana and Valverde cost them that. The team have vehemently denied this, and we will never know what the result would have been if their tactics were any different. Froome may still have had the upper hand on Quintana. When it came to the Vuelta a Espana, the pair looked exhausted from their Tour de France exploits and both missed out on the podium.
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