Villajoyosa sponsors Spanish cyclist Felipe Orts
FELIPE Orts recently achieved the best result by a Spaniard in the cyclo-cross World Cup, and as of January 1, the municipality of Villajoyosa will be his official sponsor throughout 2024. He will wear the name of Villajoyosa on the chest of his jersey in all national and international competitions.
On December 21 Villajoyosa mayor Marcos Zaragoza officially presented the news of the sponsorship at a press conference, highlighting the new structure of the FORTS Team for the next two years.
This sponsorship will mean that Orts will display the name of the town in all mountain bike, gravel and cyclo-cross races he competes in. The tourist logo of the town will also be displayed on all the team vehicles and in the warm-up tents, thereby being broadcast by all media and seen by millions of spectators at an international level.
Felipe Orts is 28 years old, was born and lives in Villajoyosa and is currently the best cyclo-cross cyclist in the history of Spain, and five times national champion.
On January 1 he will race in Baal (Belgium), debuting the new livery with the name of Villajoyosa.
Felipe Orts made his cycling debut when he was less than 10 years old at the Club Ciclista Aitana cycling school in Villajoyosa, and soon began to combine two disciplines: road racing and cyclo-cross. His evolution in cyclo-cross led him to consolidate his position among the world's elite at a very young age. As an under-23 cyclist, he achieved a historic feat when he came second in the World Championships in Bieles (Luxembourg). In the elite category, Felipe Orts has been climbing step by step, with the help of Valencian companies such as Teika or professional road teams such as Burgos-BH. In recent years he has won five consecutive Spanish cyclocross championships in the elite or professional category. The all-time record is six titles, so in 2024 he faces the challenge of equalling José Luis Talamillo and David Seco.
Internationally, Felipe Orts has also achieved historic milestones for Spanish sport, winning races in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Japan. In the Belgian calendar, which is the most competitive
in the world, Felipe Orts has reached the podium in a Superprestigio race. He was third this year, something that a Spanish cyclist had never achieved before. It happened in Niel. In the World Cup, Felipe Orts also achieved the best result of his life this season when he finished fifth in Maasmechelen (Belgium).
All these achievements recently earned him the award for the best athlete in the province of Alicante in 2022, a prize awarded at the provincial sports awards gala.
In 2024, the team 'La Vila Joiosa' will participate in three cycling disciplines: cyclo-cross, mountain bike and gravel.
In total, there will be 14 competitions, two in Spain and a further 12 outside the country, which will take place in two frenetic months of events and publicity for Villajoyosa. Meaning the town will have exposure in very interesting tourist markets, as cyclo-cross is almost a religion in Belgium, but it is also very popular in countries such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany and the
United Kingdom.
From January 1- February 28 it will compete in the second part of the cyclo-cross season. In this speciality the focus will be totally international, with multiple competitions and live television coverage on Eurosport and many European television channels.
Cycling has many important dates: the Spanish championships, the World Cup in Benidorm and the World Championships in Tabor are of the three most important.
From March 1-August 30 Orts will combine mountain bike races and gravel races. In these two specialities, the focus will be on the Spanish calendar, with special attention to the Spanish cup and the Spanish championships. From September 1 he will return to cyclo-cross racing and in mid-November 2024 Orts will take part in the European CycloCross Championships in Galicia.
Forts Team is managed by Club Ciclista Aitana, the same club where he started cycling. Villajoyosa is the main sponsor of the team but it also has other national and international brands and companies as sponsors.