Cyclocross World Cup Benidorm - Startlist, Map, Favorites, how to watch Mathieu van der Poel live and on TV in the USA and UK

Round 10 of the cyclocross World Cup will take place this Sunday, January 18th, in Benidorm, Spain. The new circuit on the World Cup has become one of the most exciting in the calendar and takes the field to the Mediterranean coast for a very fast and explosive track where Mathieu van der Poel will headline. We take a look at the startlist of the race and where to watch it online, on TV, in the USA and UK.

The track in Benidorm is very fast. It is not flat, despite the very high average speeds; the course features quite a lot of uphill section, however they are not tackled in heavy terrain or loam as in many of the Dutch and Belgian tracks. The soil is harder and more similar to gravel in many sections, whilst in this corner of Spain rain doesn't fall as heavily at this time of year, leading to frequently drier conditions. That is not assured for this weekend, with a forecast pointing towards light rain in the area and around 10 degrees, however it is not a cause for much concern for the riders. It is a race that should be fast, explosive, quite tactical and where small mistakes can be very costly.

In the morning there will be a men's junior event starting at 09:30CET local time; women junior starting at 10:35CET and also a men's under-23 event starting at 12:00CET.

The women's elite race will start at 13:40CET and should end at approximately 14:30CET. The men's race begins at 15:10CET and should end at around 16:15CET.

The race will be broadcast on Eurosport and HBO Max/Discover+ as is usual, as well as the UCI's Youtube channel live. Furthermore this race will be broadcast in:

Wout van Aert is not present due to his injury and Mathieu van der Poel made the last-minute decision to participate in the race. As he lives right next to Benidorm, it was an obvious decision to make, which will virtually guarantee his world cup victory and also make him the man to beat - even in a circuit where he won't likely be able to establish his dominance in the same way.

This is a technical and explosive race, well suited to Thibau Nys I must say. Also well suited to Tibor del Grosso, but I reckon it's not technical enough, where he really thrives, to leave Nys behind which can be an issue for him. It can get tactical but I think these two are going to be the main competition, specially after winning the Belgian and Dutch national titles respectively last weekend.

On the Dutch side we've got Joris Nieuwenhuis, Mees Hendrickx, Pim Ronhaar and Ryan Kamp; whilst on the Belgan side we've also got Michael Vanthourenhout, Niels Vandeputte, Toon Aerts, Joran Wyseure, Jente Michels and Gerben Kuypers as outsiders. I will rate Felipe Orts very high in the list of favourites, as he originates for Villa Joyosa which is right by Benidorm, and is perfectly adapted to the fast and explosive circuits. A victory is indeed possible.

Cameron Mason, Kevin Kuhn, Andrew Strohmeyer and Filippo Aggostinacchio will also be present as part of the international block, looking to go head to head against the experienced Belgians and Dutchmen.

Lucinda Brand has a firm hold of the World Cup lead, but by no means is she the woman to beat in this race. The circumstances are different from the typical cross. Here, she cannot make the difference easily based on power, and her restless calendar means that fatigue seems to be setting in slightly, or perhaps her form is just not as sharp as some of her rivals who began competing around a month ago. No breaks in the calendar, but Brand nevertheless rode the Dutch nationals, experiencing a disappointment as both Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse were stronger.

Pieterse is not here, much due to the crash she experienced last weekend, but Alvarado is on tremendous form and highly motivated after her nationals win, and can certainly in such a technical circuit be stronger than Brand.

Inge van der Heijden, Aniek van Alphen, Manon Bakker, Leonie Bentveld, Shirin van Anrooij, Marion Robert Riberolle, Julie Brouwers, Sara Casasola, Lucia Bramati, Blanka Kata Vas, Zoë Backstedt and Marie Schreiber are all present and are capable of a strong performance; and in a race that can be quite tactical, surprises aren't 'as surprising' here...