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Image of the Benidorm event in 2024 Momparler Cycling
September: A Pivotal Month to Determine if Benidorm Will Host the Cyclocross World Championship in 2029

September: A Pivotal Month to Determine if Benidorm Will Host the Cyclocross World Championship in 2029

The tremendous success of the World Cup positions the city as a favourite for the allocation of the rainbow jerseys

Nicolás Van Looy

Benidorm

Miércoles, 15 de enero 2025, 13:05

Although now, after the first two successful editions of the event, the partnership between Benidorm and the Cyclocross World Cup seems an evident success, it was not always so clear when, in mid-2022, it was announced that the top competition of the winter cycling specialty would return to Spain, more than a decade later, and for the first time outside the Basque Country.

Now, having exceeded 15,000 spectators in each of its editions (including the one to be held next Sunday) at the El Moralet and Foietes circuit, the event in the tourist capital has earned the label of 'permanent' in that elite calendar. This label is not only claimed by the organisation or the local council but has also been confirmed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the company responsible for the World Cup, Flanders Classics, through their actions.

The satisfaction of the UCI and Flanders Classics with Benidorm as a city and with its event is immense. The organisational level has passed each test with flying colours, the city offers the public everything they need, and above all, the 'pull factor' of a well-known destination throughout Europe guarantees real 'sell-outs' of fans.

Indeed, if the Cyclocross World Cup has served to promote and position Benidorm in that specific market, it has also been a huge boost to the discipline itself, giving it a projection that the events in Belgium and the Netherlands (where TV audiences for the various events frequently reach 80% market share) and other international ventures like Ireland, Italy, France, and in the past, Denmark, Switzerland, or even the United States, can only dream of.

All this has positioned Benidorm as one of the cities earmarked to host the World Championship in the specialty in 2029. So much so that the UCI and, alongside it, Flanders Classics have already shown their interest in Benidorm and, specifically, the El Moralet and Foietes circuit as the venue for a world championship that would come right after those to be held in the already designated venues of 2025 in Lévin (France), 2026 in Hulst (Netherlands), 2027 in Ostende (Belgium), and 2028 in Hoogerheide (Netherlands).

This would mean that the tourist capital of the Costa Blanca would host another battle for the rainbow jerseys after the memorable 1992 World Road Championship, which saw Gianni Bugno win and Miguel Induráin, the big favourite that day, finish sixth.

The event's organiser, Valencian Pascual Momparler, acknowledged during the presentation of the event this interest from the highest international cycling body in making Benidorm a world championship venue and now, although he does not want to take it for granted, he states that contacts have intensified and that "we have high hopes" of achieving it.

In fact, the UCI has already requested a report to assess the city's suitability to host this major event, something that, given Benidorm's accommodation infrastructure, its proximity to an international airport like Alicante, and above all, the organisational strength shown with the World Cup, is beyond doubt.

However, the final decision will be known, barring any surprises, next September when the UCI announces its world championship plans in cyclocross and other disciplines for the coming years.

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todoalicante September: A Pivotal Month to Determine if Benidorm Will Host the Cyclocross World Championship in 2029