Spain celebrated yesterday in Benidorm with the third place of local hero Felipe Orts. The rider born in Villajoyosa, less than 20 km from Benidorm, spends most of his season in Belgium, where he trains and participates in various cyclocross races, and for him performing in Spain has a significant value. Felipe Orts, who races with the Ridley Racing Team, yesterday crossed the finish line of the World Cup stage in Benidorm in third place, behind Nys in second and world champion Mathieu Van Der Poel, who dominated the race from the start. For him, this result was a dream come true. Orts is a national champion and has already won this title 8 times, but had never been on the World Cup podium in Spain.

The Spaniard attacked on the fifth lap and found an ideal companion in Thibau Nys to secure third place. "That third place and the other podium I achieved are truly a dream come true" - said the emotionally charged rider born near Alicante - "I was racing in front of my home crowd, and I could feel it. I received enormous encouragement. Those applause really gave me an extra boost. I'm happy to be on the podium with Mathieu van der Poel and Thibau Nys. It's truly incredible". Without a doubt, Orts is the strongest Spanish cyclocross rider, and his determination has rewarded all his commitment and years of hard work.

It was he who at one point launched a counterattack against the only rider in the breakaway, Van der Poel. "I wanted to showcase myself and I attacked at the right moment, because our group had lost some momentum. I immediately created a gap. After a while, Thibau Nys caught up with me. He was an ideal companion. We worked together right from the start. In the end, I was at my limit and had to let Thibau go. But by then, third place was already secured". Last night, Felipe Orts was carried in triumph by the Spanish crowd. 15,000 tickets were sold and with this result, Benidorm broke a new attendance record, selling the same number of tickets as the major events in Belgium.

"The Benidorm race has become a highly followed World Cup event with many important riders. Many were aiming to achieve the highest result today, but I prepared well and arrived at my peak form with the awareness of having good weapons to play. The crowd then was more than what made me perform even better. This podium is important to me because I finished behind two great champions with the embrace of my home crowd."