Niels Albert, former cyclocross World Champion has recently commented that
Eli Iserbyt should look for an office job if he had consistent back pain, following his abandon in Namur. The leader of the World Cup has today responded to those accusations.
“It was not great to read Niels Albert's column. I have exhausted my courage. I also heard Niels say, 'When we talk about you, that means something'," Iserbyt told Het Laatste Nieuws. He abandoned the Europeans with leg pain, and although he was diagnosed with nerve pain this wednesday following an MRI scan, he's fit to resume competition.
However concerns appeared as he drifted down the field quickly in the second round of the Superprestige Cup in Niel. He had however, far from the TV broadcast, suffered mechanicals which cost him a lot of time. “I went head to head, top to bottom. My saddle broke, my handlebars were crooked, I was bleeding from the knee and I still had to walk to the equipment post. I rode a good race, too bad about the bad luck," he commented.
However, he managed to bounce back and ride into fourth place at the end of the day, losing his lead in the cup but saving the race, specially as early in the day it looked like a very grim situation.