Here are the standings in the World Cup for cyclocross in Benidorm

With only three races left, we are almost at the climax of the Cyclo-cross World Cup. However, cross fans probably shouldn’t expect an extremely thrilling sporting finale. In the women's category, Lucinda Brand is almost certain to claim the overall victory, while Mathieu van der Poel holds the best chances among the men.

After eight of the twelve rounds, Sweeck was leading among the men, but the Crelan-Corendon rider had no serious chance of the overall win, as he has not competed this season since a crash at the Azencross in Loenhout.

Thibau Nys seemed the strongest contender to take over the leader's jersey in Zonhoven, but he fell and only collected seven points. Meanwhile, Van der Poel rode to the day's victory and earned forty points. This puts the Dutchman at 200 points, ten ahead of Nys. Michael Vanthourenhout follows just thirteen points behind, but due to illness he will miss the race in Benidorm and can now forget about the overall title.

Three races remain, in Benidorm, Maasmechelen, and Hoogerheide. For a long time, it seemed that the world champion would skip the race in Benidorm, but Van der Poel has decided to start after all. This also makes the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider the clear favorite for the World Cup, given his dominance in cyclo-cross: Van der Poel remains undefeated this season.

In the women's field, Lucinda Brand is almost assured victory. After the race in Zonhoven, the Dutch rider leads with 310 points. Second place, Aniek van Alphen, trails by no less than 82 points. With three races left, that gap seems practically impossible to close.