Benidorm CX World Cup 2023: favorites, schedule and how to watch it

A few weeks before the CX World Cup event in Benidorm, the expectation is at an all time high. It is expected that the attendance at the circuit will be more than 10,000 people for a race that will feature the best riders in the world, but the race can also be seen online and on free TV.

The CX World Cup in Benidorm will have a massive attendance

After years of absence in Spain, since those mythical races that took place in Igorre, the CX World Cup returns with Benidorm as a venue, thanks to the impulse of Felipe Orts, a native of Villajoyosa, a town practically annexed to Benidorm; and Pascual Momparler, who combines his more mediatic work as national cycling coach with the organization of events including this CX World Cup event or interesting proposals such as the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior, which premiered last season.

Few could imagine the expectation generated by the CX World Cup event in Benidorm, especially if we take into account that an entrance fee is charged for access to the circuit, something common in Belgium and the Netherlands, the cradles of this sport but something that is not common in Spain.

However, the assured presence of the magic trio formed by Mathieu Van der Poel, Wout Van Aert and Tom Pidcock, and the wonderful races they are giving us in recent weeks has been the suggestive incentive for the attendance to the CX World Cup event in Benidorm is expected to be massive.

Tickets can be purchased from the race website at a price of € 15.50 for general admission. Besides, we have the option of VIP tickets for children for 30 € and VIP for adults, with a cost of 140 €. In both cases, the possibility of parking next to the circuit and avoiding queues is added by accessing the site through a specific place, in addition to having a lunch buffet at your disposal.

Benidorm CX World Cup: Dates and times

The Benidorm CX World Cup race will take place on January 22nd on a circuit traced in the parks of Foietes and Moralet in the heart of Benidorm where Orts and Momparler have designed a circuit with a significant slope and full of technical areas.

In addition to the World Cup races to be held on Sunday 22nd, which will also include junior and U23 races, Saturday will be reserved for national races in all categories, after which the circuit will be reserved for training and reconnaissance of the riders who will compete the following day in the World Cup race.

The complete racing schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday, January 21st, 2023

• 12:30 to 14:00 – UCI Course Inspection
• 14:00 to 16:00 – Official Training
• 16:00 to 18:00 – Riders’ Confirmation

Sunday, January 22nd, 2023

• 08:30 to 09:20 – Official Training
• 09:30 to 10:20 – Men Junior 
• 10:30 to 11:20 – Women Junior
• 11:20 to 11:50 – Official Training
• 12:00 to 13:00 – Men Under 23
• 13:00 to 13:30 – Official Training
• 13:40 to 14:40 – Women Elite
• 15:10 to 16:20 – Men Elite

Favorites in the Benidorm CX World Cup

The presence of Mathieu Van der Poel, Wout Van Aert and Tom Pidcock practically assures us a duel between the three of them, as we have been able to enjoy in the last races, where they are showing a level far above that offered by the rest of the cyclocross specialists.

However, we cannot lose focus on the points race and the overall standings, led by Laurens Sweeck but with Michael Vanthourenhout chasing his lead and Eli Iserbyt, who dominated the start of the season, still holding out hope despite having slipped to third place after a December in which he seems to have lost much of the spark he started the campaign with.

In any case, it must be taken into account that the CX World Cup in Benidorm is the penultimate round of the competition, so it is possible that the overall will be decided in this race.

Of course, all eyes will also be on Felipe Orts, who so far this season has given us some remarkable performances, with 6th place in the Beekse Bergen race as the most remarkable result in this competition. We will see if the factor of riding in front of his home fans is decisive for the Alicante rider to achieve a round participation that confirms the evolution of his level.

In the women's category, the competition is a matter of two. Fem Van Empel and Puck Pieterse are proving to be unbeatable and far ahead of the rest of the riders in duels that remind us of those that for a decade have marked the men's races between Van der Poel and Van Aert.

Although Van Empel leads the standings, the points difference is slim and everything is still to be decided.

Where to watch free live the Benidorm CX World Cup 2023

Watch online or on demand

As usual, the race will be broadcast live by Eurosport, both through its television channels and its online platform Eurosport Player and the associated channel GCN+.

Watch live online for free

In addition, Televisión Española has confirmed that through its thematic channel Teledeporte and its online platform RTVE Play it will also be possible to follow the broadcasting of this race. 

Teledeporte and Eurosport will be, in any case, only two of the many channels that will carry the image of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup - Benidorm Costa Blanca 2023 to all corners of the planet. To them, we must add, only in Europe, Play Sports, Proximus and Sporza (Belgium), L'Equipe TV (France), Rai Sport (Italy, San Marino and Vatican City), NPO (Netherlands) and the specialized Global Cycling Network, also with pan-European signal. A list that, as always happens with the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup events, will be extended with channels that will broadcast the image of Benidorm, the Costa Blanca and Spain outside the Old Continent. In addition, for all those countries that do not have a television with image rights on the UCI Cyclocross World Cup - Benidorm Costa Blanca 2023, it will be the International Cycling Union (UCI) itself that will allow to watch the races live through its official website.