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.
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.
Bettini won the World Cup without winning a single race, only the second time this happened in World Cup history, after the 1991 edition.
Races DateRaceCountryWinnerTeamWorld Cup Leader Leader's teamReportMarch 20Milan–San Remo ReportApril 4Tour of Flanders ReportApril 11Paris–Roubaix Alessio–Bianchi ReportApril 18Amstel Gold Race ReportApril 25Liège–Bastogne–Liège ReportAugust 1HEW Cyclassics ReportAugust 7Clásica de San Sebastián ReportAugust 22Züri-Metzgete ReportOctober 10Paris–Tours ReportOctober 16Giro di Lombardia Report
Single races details Denotes the Classification Leader In the race results the leader jersey identify the rider who wore the jersey in the race (the leader at the start of the race).
In the general classification table the jersey identify the leader after the race. 20 March 2004 — Milan–San Remo RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4s.t.5s.t.6s.t.7s.t.8 s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Milan–San Remo RiderTeamPoints1 1002703504405366327288249201016 4 April 2004 — Tour of Flanders RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4 + 28"5s.t.6s.t.7 + 1' 09"8 + 1' 16"9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Tour of Flanders RiderTeamPoints1 10321003704705516507508449401040 11 April 2004 — Paris–Roubaix RiderTeamTime12s.t.3MrBookmaker-Palmanss.t.4s.t.5 + 17"6 + 17"7 + 29"8 + 29"9 + 29"10 + 29"General classification after Paris–Roubaix RiderTeamPoints1 110210331004845706707688589531051 18 April 2004 — Amstel Gold Race RiderTeamTime12 + 1"3 + 18"4s.t.5s.t.6 + 26"7 + 41"8 + 52"9 + 53"10 + 55"General classification after Amstel Gold Race RiderTeamPoints1 1162115310041005946947848809791076 25 April 2004 — Liège–Bastogne–Liège RiderTeamTime12 + 2"3 + 4"4 + 8"5 + 12"6s.t.7s.t.8s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Liège–Bastogne–Liège RiderTeamPoints1 200214631314127511561007988959841080 1 August 2004 — HEW Cyclassics RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4s.t.5s.t.6 s.t.7s.t.8s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after HEW Cyclassics RiderTeamPoints1 232216831674150514661317130810891001095 7 August 2004 — Clásica de San Sebastián RiderTeamTime12s.t.3 s.t.4s.t.5s.t.6 + 6"7s.t.8 + 1' 19"9 + 1' 35"10 + 1' 39"General classification after Clásica de San Sebastián RiderTeamPoints1 2822238318241505146613771318120910810100 22 August 2004 — Züri-Metzgete RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4s.t.5s.t.6 s.t.7s.t.8s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Züri-Metzgete RiderTeamPoints1 314230832025146414061377131810891001096 10 October 2004 — Paris–Tours RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4s.t.5s.t.6s.t.7s.t.8s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Paris–Tours RiderTeamPoints1 34023273252423751406131710881059961084 16 October 2005 — Giro di Lombardia RiderTeamTime12s.t.3s.t.4s.t.5 + 2"6 + 17"7s.t.8s.t.9s.t.10s.t.General classification after Giro di Lombardia RiderTeamPoints1 3402327325242515140613171058969721068
Final standings
Individual Source:
Points are awarded to the top 25 classified riders. Riders must start at least 6 races to be classified.
The points are awarded for every race using the following system:
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th Points100705040363228242016151413121110987654321 RiderTeamMSRToFROUAGRLBLHEWCSSZURTOULOMPts.1 2420DNS50470707032034020DNSDNS10010032503213032731003DNS121240152050025241536DNS28361570100142515DNS141300013100001406010010615DNSDNS00013171610323610DNSDNS10DNS1058320DNSDNSDNS5014000969140DNS2021489507210040280DNS0DNSDNS006811001100DNS000364712DNS0400DNS00DNS0DNS401309724DNS00DNSDNSDNS40148DNSDNS050161000391512DNSDNS0013DNS014DNS39165320DNSDNS0DNSDNS003717DNSDNSDNS428DNS00003218013DNS1880DNSDNSDNS301970DNS00012DNS11DNS302002800DNS0DNSDNS0DNS28Race winners not eligible for general classificationRiderTeamMSRToFROUAGRLBLHEWCSSZURTOULOMPts.-500DNSDNSDNS100DNSDNS36DNS186-20DNSDNSDNS0DNS100DNSDNSDNS120DNSDNSDNSDNSDNSDNS5DNSDNS100105-00100DNSDNS0DNSDNSDNSDNS100KeyColourResultGoldWinnerSilver2nd placeBronze3rd placeGreenTop ten positionBlueOther points positionPurpleOut of points, retiredRedDid not start (DNS)
Teams Source:
Points are awarded to the top 10 teams. Teams must start at least 8 races to be classified. The first 18 teams in world ranking must start in all races. The points are awarded for every race using the following system: Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points12987654321 TeamMSRToFROUAGRLBLHEWCSSZURTOULOMPts.1812781240151269258012982312968340007612126047496300909474750912500559045
References