Such a strong fight to the finish 💪 It's a second place for @IserbytEli in Waterloo, who never stopped fighting after a shoe change!👏 A slightly sick @vth_michael finished 6️⃣th, @_ryankamp as 7️⃣th. #FightToTheFinish #CXWorldCup
"After that it was difficult to come back" - Broken shoe costs Eli Iserbyt chance to win opening Cyclocross World Cup
CyclocrossMonday, 16 October 2023 at 13:00
Eli Iserbyt started off his winter with a second place behind Thibau Nys in Beringen and has seen the same happen in Waterloo. However it was not fully down to the lack of legs to fight for the win, as a broken shoe created the gap that the Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal rider had to chase back all race long.
In the first laps of the race Iserbyt took off in the fast circuit alongside Thibau Nys and Pim Ronhaar. He was being attacked by the two Baloise - Trek Lions but seemed to be in relative control. That is until he suffered an unusual mechanical. "My shoe broke because I jumped off and my foot hit my pedal," he tells. "The clasp on my shoe came off and I couldn't get it back in. I lost some time because of that change and I also lost the rhythm. After that it was difficult to come back.”
He had an incredibly fast shoe replacement however the 15 seconds lost in that period were enough to decide the race. Iserbyt chased on for the rest of the race virtually with the same gap, reeling in and dropping Ronhaar, but he could not go on to catch Nys. “I kept believing, but I still had a dip in the penultimate lap. If I hadn't had that, I might still be able to close the gap to Thibau."
However that did not happen. "But then I wasn't won yet. Thibau and his team played well. I am disappointed, because it is the second week in a row that I came second. I think I had the legs to win today," he concludes. Nevertheless, a second place was a strong start to the World Cup for the Belgian who looks to take the title, having won points on Lars van der Haar, Michael Vanthourenhout and the absent Laurens Sweeck.
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