More than 15,000 fans, many of them from outside our borders, have gathered today for a day characterized by good weather and elite athletes who have found in Benidorm an ideal place to practice this sport.
The Belgian Thibay Nys has won in the Elite Men's category, followed by his compatriot Eli Iserby and the Dutchman Lars van der Harr. The first Spaniard in the classification, in sixth position, has been the cyclist from Vila Joiosa, Felipe Orts, who has improved his result from last year.
In Elite Women's, the first position has been for the Dutch Fem van Emple; the second for Lucinde Brand, of the same nationality; and the third for the Luxembourger Maire Schreiber.
In the other categories, these have been the results. In U23 Men's, first position was for Tibor del Grosso, from the Netherlands; second for Jente Michels, from Belgium; and third, the French Aubien Sparfel. In the Junior Men's category, the Italian Mattia Agosticacchio won, followed by the Frenchman Soren Bruyère Jourmard and the Austrian Valentin Hofer. Finally, in the Junior Women's category, the French Lise Revol came first to the finish line, followed by the Canadian Rafaelle Carrier and, finally, the Dutch Mae Cabaca.
The Mayor of Benidorm and President of the Alicante Provincial Council, Toni Pérez, attended the event, together with the Councillor for Sports, Javier Jordá, and other members of the corporation. The regional deputy José Ramón González de Zárate was also present. The institutional representation was completed by the Director General of Sports of the Generalitat, Luis Cervera and the provincial deputy for Sports, Bernabé Cano. Among the sports figures who came to Benidorm this weekend, the figure of the five-time winner of the Tour de France, Miguel Induráin, stood out.
Benidorm, epicentre of national sport
Toni Pérez and the promoter of the Cyclocross World Cup, Pascual Monparler, have made a tour of the circuit together with the representatives of the institutions, especially the El Moralet Park, which a few days ago was awarded the Blue Path Flag 2025 awarded by the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (ADEAC) and have valued the possibilities that this enclave can offer for the development of sporting activities at the highest level.
Toni Pérez, who, together with representatives of the UCI, the event organisers, Bernabé Cano and Miguel Induráin, cut the starting ribbon for the Elite Men's event and participated in the trophy presentation ceremonies, pointed out at the end of the event that Benidorm "will continue to support the Cyclocross World Cup" because this "is a great sport that transmits great values".
For his part, Luis Cervera has stated that the World Cup has shown how “sport and tourism go hand in hand” and has described the circuit as “perfect”, which runs partly “through a park built by the City Council”. Finally, Bernabé Cano has described the event as “spectacular” and has highlighted its importance for the Provincial Council because “sport linked to tourism” attracts more and more people and today Benidorm “is the epicentre of national sport”.
Felipe Orts has also expressed his opinion, who has clearly supported Benidorm hosting the Cyclocross World Championship in the future.