The CX World Cup returns to Benidorm and Wout van Aert wants to repeat victory

For the third consecutive season, Spain will have a Cyclocross World Cup event thanks to the initiative led by former national coach Pascual Momparler. With Mathieu van der Poel absent, it will be Wout van Aert, last year's winner and in good form as shown by his recent victories in Gullegem and Dendermonde, who will lead a prestigious field that also includes local rider Felipe Orts. With only three races left, Michael Vanthourenhout and Toon Aerts are battling for the almost decided overall classification in the women's category in favor of the Dutch rider Lucinda Brand.

Where and how to follow the Benidorm CX 2025 Cyclocross World Cup

The novelty compared to other World Cup events is that there will be two options to watch the two elite races in Benidorm live from home. On one hand, the usual coverage by Eurosport, offering the competition on one of its channels and through its digital application included in MAX; on the other hand, the broadcast on Teledeporte, as RTVE has once again acquired the rights for this race.

However, for those who have the option or opportunity to travel to the Alicante municipality, it is highly recommended to buy a ticket to not miss any detail of the great cyclocross party in Spain, with a full schedule of races starting at 9 in the morning with the junior men's race. Although there are VIP options, the general online price is 20 euros.

Schedule of the Benidorm 2025 Cyclocross World Cup

Sunday, January 19

• Elite women's race: 13:40
• Elite men's race: 15:10

A clear favorite for victory

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The 2025 Giro d'Italia has it all, and lots of mountains

Although there have been slight modifications, the Benidorm circuit will once again be a very fast track, where any mistake costs many positions, as the differences between the top 5-6 riders are usually limited to a few seconds. The Foietes and Moralet parks shape once again a circuit that is undoubtedly different from most World Cup events.

Despite these particularities, the strongest riders have emerged victorious in previous editions. Van der Poel did it in the debut beating Van Aert in a sprint, who took revenge last year in another close finish between the two cyclocross geniuses. Therefore, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider will start as the main favorite for victory in the absence of Van der Poel, who is expected to return to action next week in Maasmechelen.

The battle for the World Cup

With three races remaining, and therefore a maximum of 120 points up for grabs, the World Cup seems to be between the Belgians Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel) and Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens). The former leads his great rival by only 24 points, a comfortable lead for now but one that requires no mistakes in Benidorm, where errors are severely penalized. Further back are Joran Wyseure (151), Pim Ronhaar (142), and Eli Iserbyt (139), all more than 50 points behind the leader.

While it is likely that the women's classification will not be decided in Benidorm, a victory for Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Glowi) and a bad day for Fem van Empel (Visma | Lease a Bike) would almost secure the overall victory, as the former leads her only rival by 61 points.