23 Jan ISB IN THE CX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BENIDORM
ISB Sport is present at the Benidorm Costa Blanca Cyclocross World Cup 2023.
The test carried out in Benidorm has been atypical in that it has not stood out for the terrain that we usually see in the CX championships, in this event the mud has not been the protagonist. The CEO of Momparler Cycling, Pascual Momparler, said that “it will be an atypical circuit. There’s not going to be mud, nor did we want it. It’s not something I wanted when I dreamed of this test and neither did Flanders Classics. We wanted a completely different thing and that’s what we’re going to have. I think it’s going to be one of the most beautiful races of the year because we’re going to have a very fast circuit where the three, four, or five leaders are going to ride in groups, we’re going to see attacks, regroupings… It will be an exciting race because until the end we won’t know who is going to win.”
The circuit has two very well differentiated parts and have tested the qualities of the participants. As soon as they take the exit, cyclists enter the Foietes Park, where the greatest load of technical difficulty of the route is concentrated. There they find a constant change of surface, rolling on grass, asphalt and gravel, two flights of stairs, a colourful bridge of 32 meters in length and an impressive sandbar of 40 meters that give way to a hard climb towards El Moralet. Then, the participants enter a beautiful Mediterranean forest in which there are constant slides until they reach the highest point of the circuit and head down a descent that seems very fast before returning to Foietes to face a new stretch of grass, where the planks will be located, and face the finish line from there.
The event offered a beautiful sporting spectacle on a circuit that favoured some of the most exciting races of the entire season. With the 13,000 souls that filled the Benidorm circuit dedicated to the cause, the men’s Elite race, with Wout van Aert, Mathieu Van der Poel and Tom Pidcock as great claims, did not disappoint. The last lap was, quite simply, an ode to cyclocross, with its two biggest stars literally glued together. Arrived at the finish straight, and after having beaten in endless changes of pace, it was Van der Poel who entered the finish line first. Van Aert, glued to his rear wheel, went long in the last corner. He stumbled. One of those minimal mistakes so unbecoming of him and that, at this level, suppose the enormous difference between success and failure. Van der Poel, triumphant, raised his arms. Van Aert, happy despite everything, finished second.
From ISB Sport we want to continue supporting this beautiful sport that gives us weekends like the one lived in Benidorm, which is why we are already looking forward to the next CX event!
