A one-on-one was supposed between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the Benidorm Cyclocross World Cup and according to the resolution it was. Although shortly before Sweeck and Iserbyt had joined the party. On a fast and dry route, different alternatives were seen. From the initial spurt of the Englishman Pidcock, who was finally fifth, to the battle that Iserbyt himself gave the two road giants in the final stretch to discuss their conditions. The Belgian in a certain way took advantage of the marking that both Mathieu and Wout offered during part of the race to at least believe in the surprise.
The fight that both have been maintaining throughout the season in each of the appointments they complete was repeated this Sunday, although on this occasion their dominance was not so clear. The conditions of the circuit, unusual for a cyclocross event, conducive to the fact that there was not so much physical exhaustion as mental wear when it came to taking certain precautions so as not to crash in several curves. In one of them, in fact, Van der Poel got a little scared when his right wheel skidded, although his expertise on the bike allowed him to get out of the mishap without excessive problems. Coincidentally in that turn, Van Aert marked the best lap of him.
The Jumbo-Visma runner gave the feeling of being one point ahead of his opponent. At the beginning of the last lap he took the lead, to set the pace and incidentally trace the most demanding curves before anyone else. But on a slightly sloping left-hander just before reaching the sandy section he went too wide and allowed Van der Poel to take the lead. The two crossed the hundred meters of sand without getting off the bike, but the Dutchman was no longer surprised. He got into first position and squeezed her legs without missing anything. Even in the sprint to the finish he had no room to even raise his right arm and celebrate victory.
He felt the breath of his opponent so much that he did not dare to celebrate this time his fourth victory in a World Cup event. To the enjoyment of the thousands of fans who came to Parque Foietes in the Alicante town, the first edition of an event of this level was a success, completed with the new position of Felipe Orts, who was running at home.
Close fight in women’s category
Of course, a little more mud was missing so that it would not seem like a road trip at times, but it is what traveling to the Levante has. The fight was also close in the female category. Although the domain was clearly Dutch, with five of their riders in the top six. Only the Italian Silvia Persico, fourth at the end, was able to get into so much dominance.
The victory was scored by Fem van Empel. She dominated the aforementioned tournament with eight wins this season, she beat Puck Pieterse, with whom she had a titanic duel, even with several elbow touches included. The young Shirin van Anrooij, leader of the sub’23 category, completed the podium. The three offered an unparalleled fight and did not save anything. Van Empel had one more gram of strength to throw her last whiplash in the final curves and stand out enough to celebrate her new success in this case. The Asturian Lucía González was the best Spaniard when she crossed the finish line in twenty-second position.
