After a traffic jam style cyclo-cross Van Empel takes her third consecutive win at World Cup Benidorm

Fem van Empel won the Benidorm World Cup . The rider of Visma | Lease a Bike was the strongest after an exciting cross in Spain, where the top riders were very evenly matched. The world champion was too strong in the final lap for Lucinda Brand and Marie Schreiber. Marianne Vos finished fourth.

The Spanish World Cup race has only been on the program since 2023, but it has now become a staple on the calendar. This is also true for the fans: it was packed with spectators. They were eager to see the cyclo-cross champions but had to do it without Puck Pieterse. The Dutch champion had canceled due to an ongoing illness. She took the safe bet and decided not to travel to Spain.

The start was somewhat as expected. Marie Schreiber and Fem van Empel were traditionally away fast, and Lucinda Brand, not so much. It is difficult to overtake on the fast course, so the former Dutch champion was immediately tasked with a problematic catch-up race. Marianne Vos did slightly better, joining the rider from Baloise Glowi Lions in the tenth position. The course does not lend itself to significant gaps, so everything remained close initially.

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Traffic jam style in Benidorm, Brand accelerates

And so the field at the front shuffled a bit. Brand could ride to the front on more relaxed sections, taking the lead on lap two. The first fifteen ladies were still within ten seconds of each other, and so it became an exciting and nervous race. On the famous hill where Mathieu van der Poel accelerated last year, Brand, who had fallen a bit behind again, rode impressively to the lead, bringing her back to the front. Alvarado followed, but the world champion didn't let her wheel go. This changed the overall pace in the race: thanks to the leader in the World Cup standings, we had a leading group of four: Brand, Van Empel, Alvarado, and the strong Vas were in the front.

Alvarado was the slowest of those four on the long uphill stretch. She quickly lost the connection, and the gap suddenly became significant. The chasing group followed at sixteen seconds with two laps to go. The three in front seemed the strongest but didn't go full speed yet. As a result, the Alpecin-Deceuninck woman returned, and the group behind wasn't far either. Even better: the field shifted back together, and in no time, there were ten ladies in the leading group again.

That made the last lap extremely exciting. The asphalt climb seemed to be the decisive point, but it remained relatively quiet there: Brand's pace at the front was enough to hold off an attack. Suddenly, Schreiber went to the front, after which the world champion took over. Brand was not satisfied with that and passed her again. Van Empel passed her again at the barriers, and she did not give up that position. Brand finished second, ahead of Schreiber.

Results World Cup Benidorm 2025, women

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