11/02/2023

"I was a bit lucky then that Lars made a mistake" - Eli Iserbyt thrives on technique to take important win at Superprestige Middelkerke

Eli Iserbyt had a dominant start to the cyclocross season, but over the winter his dominance faded as the 'big three' surged, but also as Laurens Sweeck, Lars van der Haar and Michael Vanthourenhout took important victories over him. Today in the final round of the Superprestige Cup in Middelkerke he returned to his winning ways.

“I grew in the race. I saw that I was always the lesser in the sand. I wanted to pass them every time, but Lars always rode a very tight pace," Iserbyt said in a post-race interview. "As a result, I kept hanging at one or two meters. He made a mistake on the last lap. That was the signal for me to keep going. After a fall you always have to recover yourself. I made a gap there.”

Lars van der Haar wins Superprestige Cup after second place as Eli Iserbyt takes win in Middelkerke

Iserbyt struggled throughout the first half of the race to keep up with Lars van der Haar and Laurens Sweeck who seemed to have the upper hand in the crucial sand sector, but has managed to find his best legs in the fast track. Having managed to be the only rider to keep up with the Dutch champion - who was crowned the cup winner later on - Iserbyt took advantage of an error to get the winning lap inside the final lap.

"I felt that I was better in the parts after the sand. I really lost my power there. I noticed that maybe I could make the difference there on the last lap, so it was biting until the last lap to stay in the wheel. I was a bit lucky then that Lars made a mistake. Then it was full throttle to the finish," he explained.

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The Belgian climbed to second in the overall standings in front of Michael Vanthourenhout, but that was not meaningful, with the gap to van der Haar being too big to close at this point in the winter.

Iserbyt rode to fifth only at the Parkcross Maldegem, but has proved to be at his best level once again. “I was disappointed at the time, so I was determined to put in a good performance today. But everyone rides at a very high level after the World Championships. So it certainly wasn't easy," he concluded.