MADRID, 21 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) won this Sunday in the UCI Cyclocross World Cup-Benidorm Costa Blanca, the penultimate round of the cyclocross World Cup, after the unexpected fall of the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), while the Dutch Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike) has achieved victory in the women's category.
Van der Poel, current cyclocross world champion, suffered from mechanical problems from the beginning of the event, which took place on a three-kilometre circuit in the El Moralet and Foietes parks, which hampered him and forced him to stage a spectacular comeback that took him led to the front group.
Van Aert and fellow Belgian Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) were waiting there, whom he left behind with four laps to go. However, a slip in the eighth of the nine set laps took him out of the fight for victory and served the Belgian with revenge for what happened last year.
Thus, Van Aert entered the finish line, just after also falling to the ground in the last meters when he was walking alone, stopping the clock at 1:01:06, three seconds ahead of his compatriot Michaël Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal ) and seven ahead of another Belgian, Thibau Nys. Van der Poel, for his part, closed the 'Top 5' 12 seconds behind the winner and just behind fellow Belgian Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal).
Regarding the Spanish participation in the men's event, Felipe Orts completed the test in a creditable eighth position, 21 seconds behind Van Aert.
In the women's event, the Dutch Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike), world champion of the modality, took the victory by completing the route in a time of 52:53, ahead of her compatriots Puck Pieterse (Fenix -Deceuninck), who finished just one second behind, and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who entered the finish line 16 seconds behind the winner and sealed her overall victory.
The three stood out from the start on the Benidorm circuit, in which Van Empel – also winner last year in the Alicante event – and Pieterse played for the victory in the last lap. Alvarado, with his podium, confirms his overall success in the World Cup. Lucía González, Spanish champion, finished the test in 26th place.