Climbing, technical challenges to make up for tough racing in the Costa Blanca
On January 23rd, 2023, Benidorm will host the return of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup to Spain after a decade-long absence. The capital of the Costa Blanca has already designed the racetrack for an event that is due to be the second-to-last race of the world’s most important CX tournament.
The details of the course were finalized last week, as the head of the organization for the Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – Benidorm Costa Blanca 2023, Pascual Momparler, met in Benidorm with representatives from Flanders Classics, the entity running the UCI Cyclocross World Cup on behalf of the UCI, and from the TV production company that will be responsible of broadcasting the event to millions of households all over the world. Spain’s best-ever cyclocrossman, Felipe Orts, did also offer his input on the ground.
The racetrack of the upcoming Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – Benidorm Costa Blanca 2023 will feature two distinct areas of the city. First will come the Parque de Foietes, an urban park where the skills of the riders will be put down to test. Afterwards, the racers will go inlands over several steep hills to enter the Parque del Moralet, a Mediterranean woodland section that will demand the best power efforts that the riders might have in their legs.
¡Tenemos NOTICIAS! Ya conocemos el CIRCUITO del CX Benidorm Costa Blanca.
ℹ️ El trazado discurrirá por los parques de Foietes y El Moralet y combinará dureza y dificultad técnica con 2 zonas diferenciadas.
Los detalles➡️https://t.co/qOBLq8KEsP
📹 @Momparler explica el diseño. pic.twitter.com/JkZ4UEsM1N
— CX Benidorm Costa Blanca – World Cup 22/23 (@BenidormCX) May 23, 2022
Pascual Momparler (Head of the organization of the Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – Benidorm Costa Blanca and Momparler Cycling CEO): «This racetrack features two very different sections that will make up for spectacular racing. It isn’t similar to any other UCI Cyclocross World Cup race, as we have sought to challenge the riders’ skills as well as their power and their endurance, with many meters to climb over the three-kilometer course.»
Felipe Orts (Burgos BH rider and four times Spanish National CX Champion): «It will be a very demanding course. At some points we will be forced to dismount and run. There are sandbanks, stairs, barriers – everything you can look forward to on a cyclocross race! The woodland section is faster than the Parque de Foietes’ one, which is more testing skills-wise. I’m sure the fans are going to enjoy this event dearly.»
Mariló Cebreros (Benidorm’s Counciller for Sports and Consumption): «This Copa del Mundo de Ciclocross – Benidorm Costa Blanca 2023 is a great chance for the city of Benidorm to reach new public in Northern Europe. We are pretty happy its course will feature the Parque del Moralet, a beautiful area of Mediterranean woodlands in the outskirts of our city that we are renovating as of now for it to become a fixture for our inhabitants and visitors – a green space where to enjoy sports.»
