“It was a shock when I started riding again” – Eli Iserbyt fights back after second artery surgery and career-threatening pain

The new cyclocross season will start without one of its most successful riders. Belgian star Eli Iserbyt is still recovering from multiple surgeries on his iliac artery and will not pin on a number for the first weeks of racing.

His target is now a comeback in November, though even that goal remains uncertain. “I hope to return on November 11, but it will be difficult,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “I would like to ride the full World Cup with the first round in Tábor on November 23. That is the goal.”

Iserbyt, one the most accomplished full-time crosser of his generation with 54 wins, has endured a frustrating series of setbacks. During last season he repeatedly suffered nerve pain in his left leg, which in February led to a diagnosis of a narrowed iliac artery. After a major operation and six weeks of rest, he believed the problem had been solved, but the pain returned when he resumed training in May.

“It was a shock when I started riding again,” he explained. “I got the same complaints. New tests showed several things were still not right. I quickly realized it was really necessary to open everything up again to find the real problem and fix it.”

A second surgery followed, one that doctors say addressed the issue more thoroughly but still requires a lengthy recovery. “An artery is very sensitive. With the second operation the problem was treated better and the risks are lower, so I hope to rehabilitate well. I feel much better, but the doctors told me it can take another year and a half before I have the same feeling in my left leg as in my right,” he said.

“I want to regain my strength and the same burning sensation in both legs, but that takes time. The scars must first heal and feel flexible again. We wanted to make sure I was treated optimally so the rest of my career would no longer be at risk. It was the right moment after a few years of struggling,” he added.

The Pauwels Sauzen - Cibel Clementines rider does not only do cyclocross, but also road races. However, he has never been close of reaching the same levels of success as on the mud, with 0 professional road wins. He has not ridden at all this season due to the injuries, with his last road race appearance being on September 21, 2024, at the Super 8 Classic, where he abandoned.