Quinten Hermans (Tormans CX) off the line quickly at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Iowa City, men's elite race 2021(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The first lap on the flyover(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Hermans and Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) over the barriers on the first lap(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Vanthourenhout, Lars Van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions), Hermans, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Ryan Kamp (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) on the flyover(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Ryan and Hermans on Mt Krumpit(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Van der Haar and Hermans in the sand after breaking away(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout on their way into the sand in third and fourth(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Forming a lead group of four(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Hermans drops his chain after a mishap on the barriers(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
The lead group of four is now three – Iserbyt, Van der Haar and Vanthourenhout(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Iserbyt opens up the gap(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Victory for Iserbyt(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
Elite Men's podium for World Cup Iowa City, won by Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) with Lars Van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) second and Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) in third(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Iowa City, men's elite race 2021(Image credit: SnowyMountain Photography)
European cyclo-cross champion Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) bounced back from a runner-up finish at Fayetteville on Wednesday in the mud to win in warm conditions during the third round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday.
The Belgian kept Lars Van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) at bay despite a determined chase by the second-placed Dutchman. Iserbyt's teammate Michael Vanthourenhout finished third, managing to gap Toon Aerts (Baloise-Trek Lions) with an uphill acceleration during the final lap.
“It was very hot," Iserbyt said in the post race interview, adding that the heat intensified in the final laps. "Especially with the hard efforts without any drinks its very hard and we are not used to it in Belgium, but I can handle the heat very well. Today was just hot enough.”
Iserbyt won the Iowa City World Cup contest when it was last held in 2019. He is the current leader in the elite men's World Cup standings with his three podiums on the US swing, including the win during the opening round in Waterloo, Wisconsin.
Quinten Hermans (Tormans CX) is now second on the overall standings after having finished fifth in Iowa City after losing touch with the lead group when he came off over the barriers and then lost extra time due to a dropped chain. Hermans won the muddy Fayetteville World Cup round and came third at Waterloo.
Hermans had looked like he was set to deliver another commanding performance in the opening stages of the race, stringing out the field so that by the fourth lap of the ten lap race it was a group of four riders leading – the three podium finishers and Hermans. Aerts then joined the quartet on the fifth lap.
The barrier bunny-hop that went wrong, however, soon left Hermans out of the lead group and the running for the podium. Then at three-laps left to go the group was further split when Iserbyt took off alone.
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“I have an advantage here (Jingle Cross) because I am not that big – going uphill,” said Iserbyt. “On the climbs, I got a little gap and then held my pace."
Van der Haar didn’t give up easily, attempting to find his way back to Iserbyt’s wheel but while he had him within sight in the final lap, he still couldn’t quite close the gap. As Iserbyt soloed to first, Van der Haar kept the pace up to hold second with a 20 second buffer to Vanthourenhout.
The World Cup series now moves on from the United States, with the next round in Zonhoven, Belgium on Oct 24.
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