Nys wins in Benidorm in true Van der Poel style, Van Aert falls short after catch-up race

Thibau Nys won the Benidorm World Cup . After an exciting race in Spain, the rider from Baloise Glowi Lions was the best. The European champion made a superb attack in the final lap and arrived solo. Top favorite Wout van Aert could not keep up at the crucial moments, finishing fourth behind Lars van der Haar (third) and Eli Iserbyt.

Last year, Van Aert was victorious after a stunning battle with Mathieu van der Poel. However, the world champion crashed in the final lap, so the Belgian won the Spanish cross. A new battle would not happen because the rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck was not there this time: he chose not to celebrate his 30th birthday in the field. But Thibau Nys was there and would not ride in his brand-new tricolor earned at the Belgian championships.

The best start was for Niels Vandeputte and home rider Felipe Orts. Van Aert had a poor start: he was way in the back anyway, so he had to chase. It could have been worse: Joris Nieuwenhuis nearly dropped out of the top fifty. His cyclo-cross race became tough. As expected, everything was tight: everyone was still together after one lap, and anything was still possible. This allowed Van Aert to advance on the asphalt slope: he moved up bit by bit.

The most active riders of the early stages were Orts and Eli Iserbyt. The Belgian was not wearing his national jersey for the first time and wanted to show he was still top. Consequently, it went hard, but in the end, Nieuwenhuis showed that he still had ambition despite his bad start. He rode the fastest of all and quickly moved to the front. With three laps behind him, he had worked his way into the top fifteen. Van Aert, meanwhile, had made the connection to the lead. There, Nys showed himself for the first time: he took over the lead from Michael Vanthourenhout and tried to make a difference.

The European champion took huge risks, which almost went wrong in a fast corner. Van Aert didn't dare jump over the barriers; he lost several spots there every time. On the long slope, however, he returned, but there was no question of advancing (yet): he dangled at the back of the leading group. In the last three laps, Nieuwenhuis joined the front, but that group was over ten riders in size. Advancing was difficult, but the former Dutch champion seemed to rewrite the cycling laws.

It was extremely crowded at the front, so people were getting nervous. It was pushing and pulling, and everyone wanted to be in the best positions. Suddenly, Lars Van der Haar was putting himself in front for the first time. He pulled full speed, and only Iserbyt could keep up. With two laps to go, the pair had a gap of seven seconds. On a course like this, that's a lot, so Van Aert was forced into the lead. He took control of the chasers. He picked up the pace and attacked on the asphalt climb. It was a battle, and Nys was with him.

Yet it was back to square one, as it had been throughout the race. Everything came together again. It was undoubtedly exciting, especially with Baloise Glowi Lions and Pauwels Sauzen - Cibel Clementine's teammates in front. Van der Haar left a gap ahead of the asphalt, after which Iserbyt and Nys went full speed ahead. That European champion accelerated furiously and proudly rode his compatriot out of the wheel.

He extended his lead gradually and made no mistake. The Belgian champion triumphed nicely in Benidorm, ahead of Iserbyt. Behind him, Wout van Aert lost his podium spot to Van der Haar, who beat him in the battle for third place.