The Year’s Best - Netherlands top Cycling nation in 2018
Another exciting sporting year is drawing to a close, and it is time for us to reveal the final rankings in GSN’s unique sport groups,
starting with those for which the year-end table is already definitive.
GSN’s Cycling sport group combines five different dimensions of elite competitive cycling: from the fun in BMX to the mud in Cyclocross, from the mountain peaks in MTB to the gruelling slogs in Road Cycling and the sheer speed in Track Cycling.
In 2018, the Netherlands won the Cycling sport group, beating Great Britain by the highest winning margin since 2013 (225 points, equivalent to a 7.4% share of the points). The Flying Dutchmen and women won no less than three of the group’s component sports, coming first in BMX and in the two main point-earners, Road Cycling and Track Cycling. Belgium won Cyclo-cross, for the fourth time in five years, and Great Britain took top honours in MTB.
Germany had a successful year, earning a podium place in the sport group for the first time since 2013, while Australia was the year’s cycling disappointment, finishing fifth overall and missing out on the sport group podium for the first time in GSN history.
The Dutch were also the best nation in the top 20 in per capita terms (i.e. in terms of the number of citizens needed to score one GSN point in Cycling sports), ahead of Denmark and New Zealand.
The full ranking for the 2018 Cycling sport group, and the top-3 for its component sports, are set out below.
|
2018
|
CYCLING
|
||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Netherlands
|
559
|
18.4%
|
|
2
|
Great Britain
|
334
|
11.0%
|
|
3
|
Germany
|
250
|
8.2%
|
|
4
|
France
|
219
|
7.2%
|
|
5
|
Australia
|
178
|
5.9%
|
|
6
|
Italy
|
165
|
5.4%
|
|
7
|
United States
|
164
|
5.4%
|
|
8
|
Belgium
|
120
|
3.9%
|
|
9
|
Denmark
|
110
|
3.6%
|
|
10
|
Spain
|
105
|
3.5%
|
|
11
|
Russia
|
98
|
3.2%
|
|
12
|
Canada
|
93
|
3.1%
|
|
13
|
Switzerland
|
84
|
2.8%
|
|
14
|
Poland
|
75
|
2.5%
|
|
15
|
Czech Republic
|
71
|
2.3%
|
|
16
|
New Zealand
|
61
|
2.0%
|
|
17
|
Colombia
|
54
|
1.8%
|
|
18
|
Portugal
|
46
|
1.5%
|
|
19
|
Hong Kong
|
36
|
1.2%
|
|
20
|
Japan
|
30
|
1.0%
|
|
21
|
Belarus
|
26
|
0.9%
|
|
22
|
Ukraine
|
26
|
0.9%
|
|
23
|
Sweden
|
23
|
0.8%
|
|
24
|
Brazil
|
22
|
0.7%
|
|
25
|
Austria
|
20
|
0.7%
|
|
26
|
Lithuania
|
16
|
0.5%
|
|
27
|
Ecuador
|
10
|
0.3%
|
|
28
|
China
|
10
|
0.3%
|
|
29
|
Mexico
|
10
|
0.3%
|
|
30
|
Slovenia
|
10
|
0.3%
|
|
31
|
Greece
|
6
|
0.2%
|
|
32
|
Luxembourg
|
5
|
0.2%
|
|
33
|
South Africa
|
2
|
0.1%
|
|
34
|
South Korea
|
2
|
0.1%
|
|
35
|
Ireland
|
2
|
0.1%
|
|
Grand Total
|
3,042
|
100.0%
|
|
BMX
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Netherlands
|
60
|
38.5%
|
|
2
|
France
|
36
|
23.1%
|
|
3
|
United States
|
14
|
9.0%
|
|
Cyclocross
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Belgium
|
36
|
46.2%
|
|
2
|
Netherlands
|
16
|
20.5%
|
|
3
|
United States
|
12
|
15.4%
|
|
MTB
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Great Britain
|
94
|
17.2%
|
|
2
|
France
|
90
|
16.5%
|
|
3
|
Switzerland
|
70
|
12.8%
|
|
Road Cycling
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Netherlands
|
209
|
29.8%
|
|
2
|
Spain
|
73
|
10.4%
|
|
3
|
Great Britain
|
72
|
10.3%
|
|
Track Cycling
|
|||
|
Place
|
Country
|
Points
|
Points %
|
|
1
|
Netherlands
|
258
|
16.5%
|
|
2
|
Germany
|
196
|
12.6%
|
|
3
|
Great Britain
|
162
|
10.4%
|
