Eli Iserbyt wins cyclocross World Cup and has mind on World Championships now: "I'm happy with second place"

Eli Iserbyt had already confirmed his triumph in the Superprestige, and today in Hoogerheide he has sealed the World Cup victory. It is the second time for the Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal rider who rode a strong race today and held himself against Joris Nieuwenhuis.

“If everyone says in advance that things cannot go wrong, you are still very cautious. The race still had to be held. It was a very strange scenario, I still had to lose, because I had to ride in the top 20. But I am very happy with this second time in the World Cup classification. That looks good on my record," Iserbyt said in a post-race interview. After Benidorm he had 33 points over Nieuwenhuis. Although very hard, it was not impossible for him to lose the cup, but he counted on Mathieu van der Poel to steal the win and the points that the Baloise - Trek Lions rider needed.

Indeed Nieuwenhuis rode to second on the day behind van der Poel. But either ways, Iserbyt rode a strong race to finish fifth on the day - ending the competition with 25 points of lead over his rival. It is perhaps the most important achievement of his season. Now, next week he will make the trip over to the Czech Republic for the World Championships.

“...Realistically, I'm happy with second place, I think. Anyway, you always go for more, but you have to remain realistic," he tells. Most likely he - and the rest of the field - will have to face a very strong Mathieu van der Poel. However over these past two weeks his performances were not as dominant, which may give more hope to a few riders.