Everything about... Eli Iserbyt - Cyclocross' new purist and Belgian star

Eli Iserbyt is a professional cyclist who races for Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal. He is a cyclocross specialist who has in recent years taken wins in the European and World Championships in Junior and under-23 ranks, but in the Elite ranks he's also taken an European title, aswell as having many victories, including all three main cups - World Cup, Superprestige and X2O Badkamers Trofee. Click here to read the biography at all times. 

Name: Eli Iserbyt

Born: 22 October 1997

Birthplace: Bavikhove, Belgium

Turned Pro: 2016

Height: 1.65m

Eli Iserbyt was born on the 22nd of October 1997 in Bavikhove, Belgium. He is a cyclocross specialist but also a pro road racer and Mountain Biker, however it has been his talent and achievements in the off-road discipline that has put him in the spotlight for several years. Iserbyt currently rides for Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal and has one of the longest contracts in pro cycling, until 2026. He is the fiancée of Fien Maddens, a digital marketer. 

He's recently turned to MTB, achieving a few podium results in international races alongside minor results, however in 2022 he suffered with back issues in the summer and had to postpone his participation in the World Cups for Belgium. He prefers the off-road disciplines as they suit him better, on the road he's never been able to achieve the same results, still without pro wins and having a 3rd place at the 2018 Boucles de la Mayenne as his best result.

Iserbyt is a cyclocross specialist, and has since his youngest ranks. In his two junior seasons he won the national championships on both occasions, and in it's final - 2014-2015 - he's won the World Cup and Superprestige, alongside winning 16 out of his 20 races, including a win in the European Championships in Lorsch. He signed with the Marlux-Napoleon Games team for the start of the 2015-2016 season, the team he still represents to this day.

Having came after the generation of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, alongside several other riders who he currently has as rivals, he managed to have more freedom to chase wins. He spent four seasons as an under-23 rider, but right from the first in 2015-2016 he won the World Cup and Superprestige beating Quinten Hermans in both. He managed to take 12 wins including the World Championship title in Heusden-Zolder.

He won the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee on the 2016-2017 season. It was a season from mid-September all the way into mid-February, and he won 8 races, with a few presences in the Elite ranks. In 2017-2018 Iserbyt won the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee once again, in a season which was close to 50/50 between under-23 and Elite level. This year he's won 12 races including the European Championships in Tabor and the World Championships in Valkenburg.

2018-2019 was his final year as an under-23 rider, although he's only raced the World Cup and European/World Championships at that level, the rest of the season being at Elite level. He only took 3 wins this season but they were all in U23 World Cup races, then racing to 2nd on both European and World Championships, with Tom Pidcock taking the wins in a rivalry that had developed.

In 2019-2020 Iserbyt raced fully at Elite level for the first year. He was instantly successful, taking two dominant wins in the American World Cups. The Belgian took 10 wins this season, also winning the World Cups in Bern and Nommay, winning the DVV Trofee and finishing second in both World Cup and Superprestige. In 2020-2021 he won the X2O Badkamers and finished second in the Telenet Superprestige. He became European Champion in 's-Hertogenbosch and took 7 wins, however none in the World Cup where he's notably only contested 3 events.

In 2021-2022 Iserbyt was the most dominant figure in the men's side of the discipline, winning the World Cup and Superprestige, whilst riding to 2nd place in the X2O Badkamers Trofee. He won 14 races this season, as is traditional most in the first half of the season. He's won the Waterloo, Iowa City, Overijse, Koksijde, Besançon, Flamanville and Hoogerheide World Cups.

In 2022-2023 Iserbyt entered the season with great form, winning the trio of opening World Cup rounds in Waterloo, Fayetteville and Tabor, alongside two other wins. As of mid-November, he remains in the lead of the World Cup.