Preview. Round number 13 of the cyclocross World Cup will take place in Spain. The riders will go international into the Benidorm circuit, and it will be the final battle between Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock this cyclocross season.
Although eastern Spain is known for it's warm weather, the temperatures won't be luxurious this weekend, and rain will fall in the days leading up to the race. Sunday however should be dry. However the rain here won't make for mud, but instead solidify what is a very packed and dry track. The race has a long flat paved start before hitting the first technical corners. Two relatively long stair sections and a decently sized pit will make for difficult sections. The second part of the course sees the terrain change significantly, with another long road sector leading to a park where the riders will have a lot of gravel, not very technical but very fast.
Overall this is an extremely fast track. Ordinarily, a hard one to make differences early on, however perhaps not with the quality of riders present. An almost featureless track where the riders only have to dismount for stairs. Long flat paved sections and continuously fast sections mean that tactics and slipstreaming will be very important. It should be a spectacular race in that it will deliver high-speed action and the riders should be very close to each other, with no big gaps present. A different type of cross but one that should be quite a good watch.
How will the four Dutchwomen race here? The differences between them are not so big, and hence we've got a tight battle incoming very likely. Lucinda Brand broke her nose two weeks ago in Zonhoven but bounced back impressively to win the Dutch nationals last week. She is packing tremendous form, and will be a big contender for victory. She seems to be a bit above Puck Pieterse, and as a consequence also a bit above Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who will focus on confirming her World Cup win and has not been having her best form. Fem van Empel then is the wildcard, she has not raced for two weeks, but was in great form beforehand.
On a fast track like this, good positioning and a good day can do wonders however, others may be able to fight for the podium. I definitely would not be surprised to see Inge van der Heijden and Marie Schreiber towards the front. However most other riders can't be said to really have a preference for a track such as this. Feeling in the day will be more important than most other factors. Annemarie Worst, Leonie Bentveld, Laura Verdonschot, Blanka Kata Vas and Zoe Bäckstedt are expected to be up there among the best as well.
Lastly, the startlist still features a lot of quality in riders such as Manon Bakker, Denise Betsema, Marion Norbert Riberolle, Sanne Cant, Sara Casasola and Kristyna Zemanová that will add to the competition, quality of the Top10 and for more exciting racing.
Last year Wout van Aert looked to have the upper hand, but in Benidorm Mathieu van der Poel began to turn the tables around - before winning the World Championships. This year he was above the rest constantly, hence it is difficult to see anyone match him. Although it's hard to make difference in such fast track, it is one perfectly suited to the Dutchman. Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock are not here with this race as a goal, that is known, and both are with their eyes on the road season currently. Hence they probably do not have trained too much their technique recently, which is crucial on this technical track. Pidcock mainly will struggle on a fast and sandy course like this I would believe. Fellow Briton Cameron Mason is in the same situation I recon, lacking the climbs and the seated efforts where both lightweights thrive.
Then we have a secondary fight. Baloise - Trek Lions did not aim for the World Cup win, but after Eli Iserbyt abandoned in Hulst, the gaps suddenly became small and reachable. With two races to go, Iserbyt has 25 points over Joris Nieuwenhuis who is in great form, 35 points over Pim Ronhaar and 40 over Lars van der Haar. The battle is open. The Belgian won the nationals last week which was a promising sign of improval and this track will suit him well. However Nieuwenhuis also became Dutch champion and is carrying stupendous form.
In a third line of interest we've got strong riders such as Laurens Sweeck and Thibau Nys who could do quite well in a sandy and fast track. Take into consideration as well Niels Vandeputte, Michael Vanthourenhout and Joran Wyseure who can very well also be in the fight for a spot in the Top5. Lastly, I add Ryan Kamp, Toon Vandebosch, Jens Adams, Witse Meeussen, Kevin Kuhn and ultimately the Spanish national champion Felipe Orts also being riders to watch.
The women's race will start at 13:40 local time and is estimated to finish at 14:30 local time. The men's race is set to start at 15:10 local time and is estimated to finish at around 16:15 local time.
You can watch the broadcast of the race at the UCI website and Eurosport Player internationally, as well as the traditional outlets. The channels which will broadcast the race will include Telenet Playsports and Proximus (Belgium), Flobikes (Canada) and NOS.nl (Netherlands).
PREDICTIONS:
Women's Elite
*** Fem van Empel
** Lucinda Brand, Puck Pieterse
* Inge van der Heijden, Marie Schreiber, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
Men's Elite
*** Mathieu van der Poel
** Wout van Aert, Joris Nieuwenhuis
* Eli Iserbyt, Lars van der Haar, Laurens Sweeck
Preview written by Rúben Silva.
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