"It is good that the police were able to take the man away immediately" - Eli Iserbyt responds to Koppenbergcross crowd trouble
Cycling
The 2024 edition of the Koppenbergcross was held this afternoon. Although Lars van der Haar took a dominant victory, not for the first time this season, the big talking point afterwards involved Belgian national champion Eli Iserbyt.
On lap 2, as Iserbyt and teammate Michael Vanthourenhout looked to put the pressure on at the front of the race, a supporter at the side of the course vented his frustrations at Iserbyt, throwing a drink over the Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal star. A few moments later, TV cameras spotted the fan in question being escorted away from the race by security.
“I was not feeling well for a moment. It was right in my face. It was unexpected, I could not find my focus for a moment," reflected Iserbyt on the incident in his post-race interview, having finished in 2nd place, behind Van der Haar. "It is good that the police were able to take the man away immediately. It did not have a big impact on my race, but I still had to recover for a moment.”
“I am a bit disappointed with this result," Iserbyt adds. "Lars was definitely the strongest, his attack was impressive. I just didn't get on the wheel and then got stuck a bit. I feel that my condition is good, but I keep bumping into someone who is just a bit better. There is always someone who is a bit fresher in the gear. Maybe I should focus on that in training.”
Read also
Results: Koppenbergcross 2024
| 01 | van der Haar Lars | 01:00:34 |
| 02 | Iserbyt Eli | + 34 |
| 03 | Aerts Toon | + 54 |
| 04 | Nys Thibau | + 01:30 |
| 05 | Vanthourenhout Michael | + 01:32 |
| 06 | Ronhaar Pim | + 01:48 |
| 07 | Loockx Lander | + 02:07 |
| 08 | Vandebosch Toon | + 02:16 |
| 09 | Van de Putte Victor | + 02:38 |
| 10 | Adams Jens | + 02:55 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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😡 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗰̧𝗮 ? Un supporter n'a rien trouvé de mieux à faire que jeter sa bière sur Eli Iserbyt avant d'être évacué par la police à l'occasion du #Koppenbergcross #LesRP
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