Iserbyt shifts away focus on European and World Championships - "I'd rather concentrate on the cups"

Eli Iserbyt currently is in the lead of the World Cup and Superprestige, and is tied together with Lars van der Haar in the X2O Badkamers Trofee. These will be his main goals of the season, as the Belgian admits the European Championships are not a big goal on the eve of the crucial weekend.

“I'd rather concentrate on the cups. They are dearer to me," Iserbyt said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "I would like to put all three on my honors list in one and the same season. So I'm going for that too. Win as many crosses as possible, now that the 'Big Three' [Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock] are not there yet. Laying the foundation and then calculating and consolidating. Fairly boring. But it is.”

As was the case last season, the Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal rider is prioritizing a long season, with many triumphs and a focus on the cups, which see the mostly road-focused riders far from a shot of contesting. Iserbyt has won the three opening rounds of the World Cup in Waterloo, Fayetteville and Tabor, then riding into third in Maasmechelen following a crash. He's finished second to van der Haar during this week's Koppenbercross, later claiming the Dutchman is the man to beat this weekend.

“Of course I secretly dream of racing for the Belgian tricolor at the beginning of January 2023 in Lokeren, on a course that suits me. But what is the chance that I will not make it there against Van Aert? Eighty percent," he continued. "A few weeks later, against Wout and Van der Poel and Pidcock at the World Cup in Hoogerheide, that percentage rises to 99 percent.”

Hence, he's focusing on more realistic goals. "I'd rather grab everything I can in those five months, focus on things that are a little more obvious and hope for an outlier and some luck at the European Championships, Championships and World Championships"

"In this way I try to further boost my standard level and to change the perception among the Belgian public that cyclo-cross only lives by the grace of Wout, Mathieu and Tom. I do my best for that," he concluded.