Eli Iserbyt and Tom Pidcock reunite at Albstadt XCO World Cup

Long-time rivals on the traditional fast tracks of Belgium, Tom Pidcock and Eli Iserbyt have had many years of rivalry before even turning onto Elite level. Whilst Pidcock turned to Mountain Biking and became Olympic champion, aswell as a big star on the road, Iserbyt has switched his focus to XCO this summer.

In an interview with Sporza, the Belgian Cyclocross star confirms that he is eager to begin a new chapter of his career in the MTB international circuit. "It's completely different from cyclo-cross, I have no experience with mountain biking. That brings extra excitement. Mountain biking is a very difficult, beautiful and extreme sport. In the descents you always have to look for the extremes, in cyclocross it is usually a little less," he said.

It's a relatively new experience for Iserbyt, however with his talent on the bike and off-road, he's expected to be able to transition quickly into this new discipline. "You have to ride for an hour and a half, which is a lot longer than in the field. You can only recover in mountain biking in the descents, which are longer than in cyclocross," he adds - noting the differences. "But if you have little experience and descent speed like me, you are also a bloc in the descents. So mountain biking will definitely make me better."

Like Tom Pidcock, Eli Iserbyt will be riding the Albstadt circuit today, and will also be joining the Briton at Nové Mesto next week. Afterwards, Iserbyt says that there will be "a thorough evaluation with national coach [Filip] Meirhaeghe will follow to see what is possible in mountain biking."