"Even Van Aert paid for that..." - Felipe Orts sees key reason for missing podium at World Cup Benidorm
Cyclocross
Felipe Orts was looking for the podium at the World Cup in Benidorm but had to settle for sixth place. The Spaniard, who had just won his seventh national title, was unable to beat his rivals despite having "the best race possible".
In statements to the EFE agency he commented that a clash with Eli Iserbyt was key to losing his chances of the podium: "When there were three or four laps to go I had a little touch with Iserbyt and I have lost a lot of positions. That made me suffer to get back to those positions. I think I wasted a bullet that I needed to fight for the podium".
In his home race he hoped to get his third podium of the season, but it was not to be. Despite this, he was satisfied with his performance in a race that was very complicated at the tactical level and in which many riders reached the end with options:
"I was very close, but I was in the fight. I knew it was difficult to get it, but I'm happy because again I improved on last year's place and that means I've taken another small step. I raced very well. Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout always do teamwork and even Van Aert paid for that. I had the best race possible."
Racing at home made him feel once again a special emotion in Valencian lands: "I felt all the support from my town, from all the Valencian Community... even the Belgians were on my side today! I'm very happy because in this race it's amazing how the public cheers me on. Not only me, but all the riders. That makes Benidorm one of the best races of the season".
| 01 | Nys Thibau | - | 56:31 |
| 02 | Iserbyt Eli | - | + 03 |
| 03 | van der Haar Lars | - | + 04 |
| 04 | van Aert Wout | - | + 06 |
| 05 | Vanthourenhout Michael | - | + 10 |
| 06 | Orts Lloret Felipe | - | + 12 |
| 07 | Vandeputte Niels | - | + 15 |
| 08 | Nieuwenhuis Joris | - | + 18 |
| 09 | Verstrynge Emiel | - | + 23 |
| 10 | Dubau Joshua | - | + 25 |
| 11 | Venturini Clément | - | + 35 |
| 12 | Adams Jens | - | + 39 |
| 13 | Kuhn Kevin | - | + 44 |
| 14 | Aerts Toon | - | + 46 |
| 15 | Wyseure Joran | - | + 49 |
| 16 | Vandebosch Toon | - | + 55 |
| 17 | Groslambert Martin | - | + 01:01 |
| 18 | Bertolini Gioele | - | + 01:06 |
| 19 | Mein Thomas | - | + 01:13 |
| 20 | Hendrikx Mees | - | + 01:23 |
| 21 | Sweeck Laurens | - | + 01:24 |
| 22 | Ronhaar Pim | - | + 01:25 |
| 23 | Mason Cameron | - | + 01:26 |
| 24 | Kamp Ryan | - | + 01:39 |
| 25 | Meeussen Witse | - | + 01:43 |
| 26 | Van Kessel Corne | - | + 01:50 |
| 27 | Boros Michael | - | + 01:52 |
| 28 | Inguanzo Gonzalo | - | + 01:56 |
| 29 | Junquera Mario | - | + 02:26 |
| 30 | Brunner Eric | - | + 02:49 |
| 31 | Strohmeyer Andrew | - | + 03:07 |
| 32 | Rouiller Loris | - | + 03:15 |
| 33 | Rouiller Loris | - | + 03:15 |
| 34 | Gilles Cyprien | - | + 03:25 |
| 35 | Ceolin Federico | - | + 03:29 |
| 36 | Suarez Fernandez Kevin | - | + 03:37 |
| 37 | White Curtis | - | + 03:54 |
| 38 | Van Kempen Jules | - | + 03:58 |
| 39 | Oda Hijiri | - | + 04:00 |
| 40 | Ovin Victorero David | - | + 04:05 |
| 41 | Gabriel Timothé | - | + 04:08 |
| 42 | Herrmann Lukas | - | + 04:09 |
| 43 | Sanchez Aldeguer Manuel | - | + 05:36 |
| 44 | Scott Cody | - | + 06:14 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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