A weekend of Fiesta gets underway.
A successful third edition of the BenidormCX filled on Saturday the circuit where the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup – Benidorm Costa Blanca will be held tomorrow with enthusiastic fans of all ages. On a sunny day with temperatures very close to 20ºC, more than 500 cyclists ranging from ages 7 to 70 raced in the BenidormCX, the national event that completes the intense program of this event. Everything is ready now for the great show everyone is waiting for.
‘Ortsmania’ in Benidorm
All the fas have already started their own final countdown to see the greatest stars of the international winter cycling scene in action, and especially Felipe Orts, who reaches this third edition of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup – Benidorm Costa Blanca as a podium contestant. This ‘Felipe effect’ was intensely felt during training on Saturday, when the roar of the crowd as he passed reached decibels as those of a competition day.
“People are really enthusiastic with cyclocross and supporting the cyclists, and we are very grateful for that,” said the best Spanish specialist of all times just after finishing his official training session. Marked as one of the podium contenders, after having managed to get there in Dublin (3rd) and Hulst (2nd), Orts promises to “give the greatest show possible” on a circuit where he has “good feelings”, but on which “any mistake can leave you out of the fight for the top spots”.
Wout van Aert leads the field
Beyond Felipe Orts, the list of riders contesting this UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup – Benidorm Costa Blanca is nothing short of impressive. Amongst the Men Elite cyclists, Belgian star Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) is the man to beat for specialists like Michael Vanthourenthout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Toon Aerts (Deschacht Hens Fsp) or current European Champion Thibau Nys (Baloise – Glowi Lions). As for the Women Elite race, UCI CX World Cup leader Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) faces rainbow jersey Fem van Empel (Visma | Lease a Bike), living legend Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), Hungary’s Blanka Vas (SD Worx-ProTime) or Great Britain’s Zoe Backstedt (Canyon // SRAM). All in all, 240 riders coming from 20 different countries will take part on a program that begins at 9.30AM with the Men Junior race and finishes around 4.30PM.
Sport and ‘fiesta’
The UCI Cyclocross World Cup – Benidorm Costa Blanca will offer no less than four Fan Zones located in the sandpit area, the stairs, the finish line and the forest, the latter offered by Red Bull. These are places where the public can enjoy food and drink, with around twenty stalls and food trucks offering breakfast, coffee and all kinds of meals… and live music.
This year, the Spanish event is aiming to round off the party with performances by various artists. From 12:00, DJ MichaelG will be playing in the sandpit Fan Zone; a Red Bull DJ will be playing in the forest Fan Zone; and ‘Nutrius Band’ will be playing in the central Fan Zone, next to the final straight.
Don't miss a thing
So that fans don't miss out on the Elite men's and women's races, they can be followed live on television. In the case of Spain, RTVE's thematic channel, Teledeporte, will broadcast the races free-to-air for the entire national territory, which can also be followed on Eurosport.
Outside Spain, the race can be enjoyed in Belgium (Telenet Play Sports 1, Auvio.be RTBF), Czech Republic (CT Sport), Denmark (TV2 Sport), France (L'Equipe TV), Hungary (M4 Sport), Italy (RAI Sport HD), Japan (J-Sports 4), Malaysia (Astro), Netherlands (NOS) and Slovakia (STVR Sport). Eurosport (Europe) and SuperSport (Africa) will also offer coverage for entire continents, while territories without an official broadcaster will be able to watch the races live via the UCI YouTube channel.
