Benidorm prepares to receive the cyclocross elite in a new edition of the World Cup

In just one week, Foietes and El Moralet parks will be the scene of a new stage of the Cyclocross World Cup, which is being held in Benidorm for the second time after the success of participation, public and promotion for the city. in the 2023 edition. The Benidorm City Council is finalizing, together with the organization of the test, all the necessary logistics for the assembly of the circuit and the development of this race, which will take place on January 21 and will bring together 15,000 fans and the main figures in the world of this sport.

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, visited part of the venue this Friday together with the director of the race, Pascual Momparler, and the councillors of three of the areas involved in the entire operation, such as Sports, Javier Jordá; Parks and Gardens, José Ramón González de Zárate; and Mobility and Public Space, Francis Muñoz. In this space, the first mayor recalled that the Cyclocross World Cup is “a great promotional event for Benidorm, with incalculable value” and has trusted that, as happened in the last edition, the event will once again mean “ a great success for our city.”

Given the assembly of all the infrastructure required for this event, the first mayor has announced that Foietes Park as well as El Moralet Park pine forest will be closed starting next Monday, January 15. Pérez explained that closing both spaces would last until Tuesday, the 23rd, and explained that the reason is mainly due to security issues. In this sense, we must remember that these days there will be machines preparing different parts of the circuit, such as the bridge or part of the fence, and the point is to prevent the machinery from working at the same time that there are users in the park. , especially in the case of young children, and an accident may occur.

"We are aware that this closure may cause some inconvenience, but it will be during the week when the vast majority of children go to school, we are also in the winter season and it gets dark very soon, so we trust that these inconveniences will users are minimal compared to everything that this event can bring for Benidorm.”

Furthermore, although the date for the reopening has been set for the 23rd, the mayor has clarified that "if there were any possibility of speeding up the dismantling work so that it could be done sooner, let no one have the slightest doubt that it will be done.".

Traffic Cuts

As regards road traffic, the holding of this test will also force some roads and services around the circuit to be closed to traffic. This is the case, for example, of Mercasa site, which must be clear of vehicles from Wednesday, January 17, after the market until 8 a.m. on Monday, the 22nd.

Concerning road traffic, Avenida de la Libertad or Avenida 9 d'Octubre will remain closed from 8 a.m. next Friday, January 19, and 8 a.m. on Monday, the 22nd. The Mobility department has indicated that this cut will also affect the northern roundabout due to the assembly of part of the circuit, so it will also collaterally affect the accesses from Nicaragua and Venezuela avenues.

Also from early next Friday, the 19th, Ciudad Deportiva Street at the junction of Guadalest Street will be closed to traffic. This road will remain without road traffic until the part of the circuit that runs through it is dismantled, which is expected to be done on Sunday afternoon.

On the other hand, the Guillermo Amor Sports City parking lot must also be cleared of vehicles from 8 a.m. on Friday, the 19th, and until the same time on Tuesday, the 23rd.

Another of the roads that will be affected is Foietes Avenue, where parking will be eliminated to clear it of vehicles. This restriction will affect the parking area closest to the circuit; that is, the one located from the main access to the park and the Goya Street roundabout. The parking ban will occur starting Friday, the 19th, due to the accumulation of people who are expected to attend to follow the race and, also, to be able to enable an area for the parking of security and emergency vehicles, such as police, toilets, etc. At this point, the mayor has indicated that Foietes Avenue will not be closed to traffic, although he has clarified that on both Saturday and Sunday, there could be occasional cuts during the competition. For this reason, the recommendation to the residents of this neighbourhood of Foietes-Colonia Madrid is that they access it from Avenida de Beniardá and Calle Alcalá and that they avoid passing through Avenida de Foietes to avoid these restrictions.

Likewise, he recalled that the City Council has three deterrent parking lots in the vicinity of this area, such as the annexe to the TRAM Station, the one at the Fairgrounds and the one on Cuba Street, where vehicles can be parked for free. both in the case of residents and those who come to watch the championship.

Actions carried out

Regarding the actions that are being carried out by the Consistory on the ground, the mayor of Parks and Gardens, José Ramón González de Zárate, has indicated that the Foietes and El Moralet Parks have been made available to the organizers “so that the test takes place in the best possible conditions.” Likewise, González de Zárate has also explained that the City Council will work with the organization so that both spaces can be reopened “in the shortest period possible.”

For his part, the councillor of Urban Scene has highlighted that workers from the municipal Technical Services have collaborated in tasks such as preparing the land, compacting, tilling the sandpit or placing more than one hundred posts to delimit the circuit in the upper part. Likewise, Francis Muñoz has also added that some ramps are going to be made in the area of ​​the traffic lane so that cyclists can go from one area to another in El Moralet and a section of construction fencing will be placed to protect the circuit.