Why Mathieu van der Poel is key to world cup ambitions in Benidorm

The participation of Mathieu van der Poel in the Cyclo-cross World Cup in Benidorm was met with cheers on Saturday by Pascal Monparluer, the organizer of the World Cup race in Benidorm. "Having him at the start here is fantastic for everything. He is a superstar," he says from the Alpecin Barbershop.

Monparluer finds it not only great for the fans but also important in light of Benidorm’s bid for the World Championships. The Spanish city aims to host the Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2031. "He is very important for that. Look, if Messi or Ronaldo would say: I’m competing in this race because it’s important, it makes the race bigger. We have that with Mathieu. Then we can say: if he already starts, why couldn’t we organize the World Championships?"

"The reactions to our World Championships bid are positive. It’s important to have the World Championships here at least once, not just in the Benelux. With the community, municipality, and region, we believe we can convince the UCI. It’s perfect that our race is a city race. You can come straight to us from the hotel, which is very important. We are located in the heart of the region."

According to Monparluer, the race has already proven to be a great success over the past few years. "When we had the idea to organize a World Cup cyclo-cross, we already thought: this is nice for the riders. They are always in Spain this week in January anyway. They can first train well in the sun and then finish off with a race," he concludes.