Benidorm CX World Cup 2024: schedules, favorites and how to watch for free

The three great dominators of cyclocross will face each other for the last time on January 21 at the Benidorm World Cup. The city of the Costa Blanca is finalizing the details to receive Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pidcock for the second consecutive year. The Alicante event will be the fifth and final occasion this winter in which the Big Three will share the stage.

Where and when to watch the Benidorm 2024 CX World Cup

The Benidorm CX World Cup will take place on Sunday, January 21. The broadcasts can be followed on Eurosport, Discovery+, Telenet PlaySports, Proximus Pickx, Flobikes or NOS.nl. 

The general admission ticket is priced at 20 euros. The organization still has them on sale -last year the capacity was filled three days before the race-. 

Schedule of the Benidorm CX World Cup

• 13:40 Women's Elite
• 15:10 Men's Elite

How does the CX World Cup arrive in Benidorm?

Cyclocross is beginning to give the last gasps of the season and the World Cup is packing its bags to move to Spanish territory. The winter competition will land in Benidorm to contest the thirteenth race of the calendar on January 21 -before the curtain falls in Hoogerheide-.

The first weather forecasts point to a dry race and a pleasant temperature for riders used to the cold.

The three patriarchs of cyclocross took the spotlight of the discipline when they debuted in the mud. The competition fell under the dominance of a Van der Poel who is on his way to completing a perfect season -he has ten victories in ten races-; Van Aert holds his own with honorable results, despite being a step behind his main rival; and Pidcock has been in the battle, except for the last two races that have left the Briton with a bitter taste.

So far they have shared mud only on four occasions: three in the World Cup -Antwerp, Gavere and Hulst- and in the X2O of Baal. The balance of these confrontations is as follows: Van der Poel has won all of them; Van Aert has finished second in three of them and fifth in Hulst; and Pidcock has only made the podium in Gavere -the only race in which the three have taken the top three places-.

Life goes on beyond the Big Three and other riders are having great campaigns. Iserbyt is the overall leader, despite losing several points in the last rounds. In addition, Nieuwenhuis has emerged as a contender for everything, Ronhaar continues to surprise at the pace of a great season for him and the regular Van der Haar always has a trick up his sleeve.

Here is the general classification:

1. Eli Iserbyt 295 points
2. Joris Nieuwenhuis 270 points
3. Pim Ronhaar 260 points
4. Lars Van der Haar 255 points
5. Niels Vandeputte 209 points

In the women's category -and pending the announcement of the official list of participants- all the favorites are expected to show up, unless there is a surprise. The crown of mud is a battle that is fought on four fronts and, in fact, Van Empel, who embodies one of the stars of cyclocross, decided to skip Zonhoven and the National Championship to return in top form to the arena of Benidorm.

Alvarado is another similar example -although she will be at the National- and everything indicates that she will pedal on the Costa Blanca. The other pillars of cyclocross should also fight it out in the Spanish event: Brand should be recovered from the hard fall she suffered in Zonhoven, while Pieterse arrives as the rival to beat after stringing together three consecutive victories in the World Cup.

Here is the general classification:

1. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado 312 points
2. Puck Pieterse 260 points
3. Lucinda Brand 237 points
4. Inge Van der Heijden 214 points 
5. Manon Bakker 200 points

The Big Three face off for the last time in Benidorm

The Cyclocross World Cup will attend the Benidorm event in its finest attire. The Alicante sun will witness the last duel between the three big roosters of winter. In fact, it will be the last chance to see Van Aert and Pidcock in action, who will say goodbye to this discipline until next season; Van der Poel, on the other hand, will still wield the sword at the X2O of Hamme, the Hoogerheide World Cup and the World Championship.

The Big Three will arrive in Benidorm as the favorites, although this year Van der Poel has earned the luxury of carrying that ticket alone. The Dutchman is at an unreachable level to date and will be the rival to beat. Van Aert, always combative, will fight to overcome the rainbow and say goodbye to the season in style. For his part, Pidcock will have to show his natural courage and, despite being a step behind, if he does well he could be in for a fight.

Nieuwenhuis, Ronhaar and Iserbyt are the other nobres to watch out for. The trio is in another fight - they are not expected in the battle for the win - and will race with calculator in hand already thinking about the overall. Van der Haar, Sweeck -a well-known specialist in the sand-, Nys, Vandeputte or Kamp could also have their chances.

Equality reigns in the battle: details will make the difference between Van Empel, Pieterse, Alvarado and Brand

The women's category has been a race full of close and evenly matched races. Alvarado's dominance came to an end and, although the World Cup has missed some of the top riders for much of the calendar, the return of the magic quartet has redoubled the interest and equality.

The predictions are complicated and the only certainty is that the victory will be sold at a high price. Van Empel, Pieterse, Alvarado and Brand will face each other in another assault for the mud throne. On the other hand, riders like Schreiber, Bentveld, Bakker or Backstedt could also be in the fight.