Defending champion Eli Iserbyt faces race against time for Belgian Cyclocross Championships

Eli Iserbyt, the 27-year-old Belgian cyclocross star and reigning Belgian national champion, is gearing up to defend his title at the Belgian Cyclocross Championships this Sunday, 12th January. With an impressive 17 World Cup wins to his name, Iserbyt has established himself as one of the sport's leading figures. However, his preparations for the championship have been disrupted by illness.

During the reconnaissance of the championship course, Iserbyt was notably absent. His team manager, Jurgen Mettepenningen, provided an update on the situation to VTM NIEUWS: "Eli is not present today because he got a bit sick after Dendermonde. He was already suffering from it during the cross," Mettepenningen explained.

The illness appears to have been a bout of stomach flu, which forced Iserbyt to take a short break from training. "On Monday he woke up with stomach flu and took two days of rest. Today he trained again for the first time and we are getting positive signals. His participation on Sunday is certainly not in jeopardy," Mettepenningen reassured fans.

This is good news at least, as Iserbyt's absence would be e negative for an event. The Belgian has been in strong form since recovering from his controversial with Ryan Kamp at the start of the season in October, and will be hoping for success this weekend.