Falling Mathieu van der Poel suffers first defeat in Benidorm, Wout van Aert wins spectacle | Sport

Van der Poel won every cross where he appeared this winter. In Spain he also rode a kind of home race. The world champion has a second home on the Costa Blanca and said he came to Benidorm by bike beforehand. There a “tricky” course awaited the riders according to Van der Poel, the winner of the very first edition a year ago.

Top favorite Van der Poel also said that his legs are no longer completely fresh after a busy winter and the many training sessions in recent weeks in Spain. Should competitors like Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock and Pim Ronhaar hope for a surprise for a change?

The challengers gained extra confidence in a good outcome when Van der Poel suffered from equipment failure shortly after the start. The Dutchman in the rainbow jersey immediately faced a half-minute deficit. But before the cross was halfway, Van der Poel had already found the connection. A leading group of four emerged with the attacking Van Aert, Pidcock, Michael Vanthourenhout and the world champion.

But it became even more exciting in the Spanish sand. First of all, two laps before the end there was a merger at the front, so that the leading group suddenly consisted of ten riders. Shortly afterwards it was Van der Poel who crashed between the sand strip and the substitution post, causing him to drop out of the lead of the race. Van Aert sensed his opportunity and moved on, with Vanthourenhout in his wake. Towards the end, Van Aert left his compatriot behind him. The hole was punched and the surprise was complete.

Thibau Nys, who had also fallen earlier, crossed the line in third place, ahead of Eli Iserbyt and Van der Poel in fifth place. The Dutchman eventually conceded 12 seconds to winner Van Aert.

Fem van Empel has won the thirteenth and penultimate cross for the World Cup. The world champion from Visma – Lease a Bike was just ahead of her compatriot Puck Pieterse at the finish. Behind the pair, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado finished third. She thus secured the final victory in the World Cup.

For Van Empel it was her fifteenth victory of the season. “It was super tough,” said the 21-year-old from Brabant in the flash interview shortly after the finish. “Puck and Ceylin had good legs. It was really a fight.”

Van Empel, Pieterse and Alvarado pulled away from the competition early on, but after a mistake the latter had to drop out of the front. Halfway through the cross, Alvarado followed fifteen seconds behind the leading duo, but the leader in the World Cup fought back to the leaders.

Ultimately, it was Van Empel and Pieterse who turned it into a duel in the final phase, followed closely by Alvarado. In the final, the Dutch toppers handed out plenty of pinpricks, after which Van Empel decided the race in her favor in the sprint.

With 337 points, Alvarado is certain of winning the World Cup. Pieterse follows second on 47 points, a gap that cannot be closed in the final match in Hoogerheide next week. The World Cup will also follow in two weeks in Tabor, Czech Republic.