Eli Iserbyt was in the news once again, but it wasn’t because of his second place at the 2024 Koppenbergcross on Friday.
During the second lap, as Iserbyt and his teammate Michael Vanthourenhout attempted to gain position at the front of the race, a spectator at the side of the course vented his frustration by throwing a drink at Iserbyt, of Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal.
Van der Haar wins
Lars van der Haar kicked off his defense of the X2O Badkamers Trofee title with a C1 victory at the Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde, Belgium, marking his second win at the event and boosting his confidence ahead of the European Championships. Last season, he won the overall Trofee without winning a round, finishing 1:41 ahead of Eli Iserbyt, while Mathieu van der Poel won four of eight rounds. The race started with Pauwels Sauzen’s Yorben Lauryssen in the lead, followed closely by Iserbyt. On the challenging 2.8-km lap, Iserbyt clocked 9:42 on the first climb. By Lap 3, van der Haar and Lander Loockx joined the front, but gaps formed quickly. On Lap 5, van der Haar attacked, building a 31-second lead over Iserbyt. In the final laps, Iserbyt, Nys, Aerts, and Vanthourenhout battled for podium spots, with Iserbyt vying for second place as Aerts chased the last podium position.
The Ryan Kamp thing
Iserbyt found himself at the centre of controversy after stomping on Ryan Kamp’s wheel during the Exact Cross opener in Beringen, Belgium. Disqualified for the incident, many called for stricter discipline for his unsportsmanlike behaviour. In response, the UCI issued both a fine and a suspension for the West-Flemish rider. Pauwels Sauzen – Bingoal confirmed that Iserbyt would sit out three key races: Exact Cross Essen, Superprestige Ruddervoorde, and Exact Cross Heerderstrand. After the fan threw the liquid—presumably (hopefully!) beer—security tracked him down, and he was removed from the race course.
In December 2023, Mathieu van der Poel took the win at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Hulst, the Netherlands, on a day full of drama, including involving the champ himself. Alpecin-Deceuninck’s rider rode past a section of fans who had been booing him all day, and he decided to let them know that he was not impressed and basically hawk tuah’ed on them.
“What happened? Nothing. Just a bunch of booers. It was the whole race. It already started during the warm-up. I’m done with it. If you do, you better stay home. I’m done with all the booing,” he explained….
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