Eli Iserbyt extends World Cup lead with victory in Flamanville

DUBLIN, IRELAND - NOVEMBER 26: Eli Iserbyt of Belgium and Team Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal competes during the 2nd UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Dublin 2023 - Men's Elite on November 26, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) (Image credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)

World Cup cyclocross leader Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) won the sixth round of the series in Flamanville. He held off a chase by Baloise Trek Lions duo Lars van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar to continue in the World Cup lead with a second victory of the series.

Van der Haar finished second, 13 seconds back, while Ronhaar, who had held a solo lead for four-and-a-half laps, secured third, another 34 seconds back.

“Very good, but very tired,” Iserbyt said in a post-race interview about how he felt. “My start was very bad. I had to go through the whole field to get to the front. Then after 30 minutes I found good lines on the track, so I’m pretty happy that I could grow into the race and do a final good set of laps.

“It was very important for me to win today. Also, to win in the [World Cup] leader’s jersey is not easy.”

The late charge by Van der Haar to catch and pass his teammate on the course also pushed him one spot higher in the World Cup standings to second overall, displacing Ronhaar to third position. 

“I was struggling a little bit in the first lap, to find my rhythm. Once I had it, I tried to go as fast as I could to the front, but Eli was a little bit faster. In the end he was just the best today. He had it under control," Van der Haar admitted.

“It took me another lap to recover from getting in front of Eli. And then I felt really strong again today and I thought maybe I can do second or a third place,” Van der Haar said.

With the lead about to change, Iserbyt and Ronhaar took fresh bikes in the pit on the fifth lap, and the pass was made when Ronhaar’s back wheel clipped the course fencing and he slipped sideways. Immediately, Ronhaar went into chase mode.

“I was totally done,” Ronhaar said about his effort on the seventh and final lap. “I was riding strong lap times, every lap 8:35. I was not feeling that great, but my basic tempo was high. I saw that Eli had a bad start, so I wanted to push from the beginning. Then three laps from the end he sprinted to my wheel and I tried to stay with him, but I was done.

“When Eli came at me, I jumped [into] the barriers but it was a little bit tricky. He was just stronger. I am happy I am third. I almost fell off the podium.”

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Jackie Tyson
North American Production editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).

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