Ever since Eli Iserbyt announced on Thursday that he would have to make an enforced immediate early retirement because of an underlying medical condition, tributes and messages of support for the Belgian cyclo-cross star have flooded in from across the sport.
Iserbyt, 28, announced he could no longer race due to a medical problem that originated from reduced blood flow in the femoral artery, meaning ‘it was no longer medically advisable to ride my bike.’
Longstanding current and former top cyclo-cross and road stars like Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Wout Van Aert, Thibau Nys, Greg Van Avermaet, Sonny Colbrelli, Zdeněk Štybar, the latter who suffered from a similar condition to Iserbyt in his later years, and Niels Vandeputte, all also sent messages of support via social media.
Van der Poel stated simply, “Lots of strength.” Van Aert posted a broken heart emoji. Pidcock paid tribute to the races he fought with Iserbyt: “Sorry to hear this Eli. Thanks for the great battles. Wish you well!”
“From the moment you knocked on our door, everyone felt it: here’s someone with fire, character, and a tremendous will to improve. Not just winning, but pushing yourself every single day – that’s what defined you.
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