“Could mean the end of my career” – Whilst Eli Iserbyt remains out of action, another Belgian CX star faces uncertain future despite European Championship top-10

Belgian cyclocross continues to face an uncomfortable truth — two of its most recognisable riders are fighting the same potentially career-ending vascular condition. While Eli Iserbyt remains absent from competition nearly nine months after his last race, Laura Verdonschot has revealed that she too is still suffering the effects of iliac artery problems, despite battling to a top-10 finish at the 2025 European Championships in Middelkerke on Saturday afternoon.

The 28-year-old from Bocholt was the best Belgian finisher in eighth place but admitted she spent the entire race “chasing the facts”, fighting through pain and numbness in her left leg — the lingering result of two major operations earlier this year to address blocked arteries.

“After one lap I couldn’t feel my left foot anymore,” Verdonschot explained to Sporza post-race. “In good condition, I should be finishing much closer. I’m used to the pain by now. It’s just that some days it works and others it doesn’t. I’m glad I made it to the finish.”

Verdonschot’s words carry even greater weight in light of the Eli Iserbyt case, which has come to symbolise the hidden cost of the modern cyclocross calendar. The Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw leader has not raced since the 16th of February, and after four separate surgeries to address recurring iliac artery blockages, his future in the sport remains in grave doubt.

Team boss Jurgen Mettepenningen admitted last week that there is “still no light at the end of the tunnel” and that the next round of medical results will determine whether Iserbyt’s professional career can continue at all. “If there’s no good news within four weeks,” he said, “it will become a very difficult story.”

For Verdonschot — who knows exactly what that uncertainty feels like — the prospect of further surgery is unthinkable. “I definitely wouldn’t go through a second operation,” she said. “That would probably mean the end of my career. It wasn’t a normal operation and it took a huge amount of energy to come back. So it’s frustrating to be riding at this level. I hope things improve over the next few weeks and that this numb foot finally disappears.”

Once a little-known issue, iliac artery endofibrosis is now emerging as a major threat within the Belgian peloton — particularly among riders exposed to long seasons of high-torque, low-cadence efforts.

Verdonschot has undergone new medical testing in recent weeks in the hope of stabilising her condition. “We’re working on it, and I hope it brings some improvement,” she said.

But as both she and Iserbyt continue to fight pain and uncertainty in parallel, their stories now serve as a sobering reminder that for all the technical mastery and spectacle of Belgian cyclocross, the hidden physical toll may yet define this generation’s legacy.