Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal is having a near perfect season. After Michael Vanthourenhout's European title, Eli Iserbyt delivered another valuable jersey in the cyclocross world - the Belgian tricolor. Naturally, manager Jurgen Mettepenningen is very pleased with this turn of events in an interview for WielerFlits.
"Of course this is emotional for me. It's always nice when you see someone from our team win. There is nothing more beautiful in the cross world than those two jerseys in one team. Eli has meant a lot to our team in recent years."
It could have turned out completely differently, because shortly after New Year, Iserbyt even ended up in the hospital emergency room. "That was scary, and made us a bit nervous. Eli became ill at a very bad time, just when he was in peak condition. Then it's time to reset. Eli, together with the team management, has rethought everything and made a plan. He trained hard this week with one goal."
"We knew there were four favorites, including two from our team. Then we already knew that we have a good chance. Thibau Nys and Laurens Sweeck were also candidates, but the puzzle went well. Based on last season, Eli was also the most deserved winner. He was the most regular of the season."