Felipe Orts gets on the podium again and heads towards the first CX World Cup

The month of November that Felipe Orts has marked was, until a few years ago, something unimaginable for a Spanish cyclist in international cyclocross races. But it is a reality, the cyclist from Alicante has not only consolidated himself among the top 10 but is now fighting races head to head against Iserbyt, Vanthourenhout, Sweeck, Nys, Van der Haart, Aerts, Vandeputte. This weekend, he again battled in the Superprestigio de Merksplas and in the X2O de Hamme.

Felipe Orts dreams big as the Cyclocross World Cup begins

If two or three years ago they had told us that we would see a Spanish cyclist leading a cyclocross race in Belgium and launching attacks to seek victory, we would have thought our interlocutor was crazy. But, with hard work and the boost that his signing for the Ridley Racing Team has meant, Felipe Orts has managed to reach the top.

A truly dreamlike November that began with the silver at the European Championship in Pontevedra, only surpassed by Thibau Nys. He enjoyed winning the cyclocross in Rucphen where, except for Niels Vandeputte, the top riders of the discipline were not present, and continued the month with a second place in the Superprestigio de Niel at the beginning of the week and completed an exceptional week this weekend.

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On Saturday, the Superprestigio de Merksplass was held, a race that, contrary to what is usually the case on this circuit, the mud was not excessive, which led to a very fast race and in a group until the end. Orts tried it halfway through the race with a surprising attack that made us dream of a great feat, but with the circuit in such a non-selective state, the regrouping came again, leaving him in a, nevertheless, commendable 8th position in a race won by Laurens Sweeck in his second consecutive victory after the show he put on Tuesday in Niel. In any case, Felipe Orts' result allows him to remain in 4th place in the general classification, 12 points behind the leader, now Lars van der Haar.

On Sunday, it was the turn of the X2O, another race with all the cyclocross stars, and again a very fast race despite the circuit offering more technical difficulties than the previous day. And again we saw Felipe Orts launching attacks and trying to open a gap at the front for a little over a lap, although he would eventually be caught. In the end, he had to settle for 3rd place, only surpassed by Vandeputte and Iserbyt.

A sweet form and results that are coming in a season without a clear dominator and with 8 cyclists showing tremendous equality, a privileged group in which Felipe Orts has emerged, who has been knocking on the door of the top level of cyclocross for a few years now.

Now, it is time to confirm this status with the arrival of the Cyclocross World Cup, which will kick off next Sunday, November 24 with the race in Antwerp. A race in which we should continue to see the same group of riders at the front who are determining the outcome of the races that have been taking place, and who, on the other hand, know that they must now seek the best possible results before, in mid-December, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, and Tom Pidcock make their presence felt, who, as they have shown in previous seasons, are on another level.