The Cyclocross World Championship takes place this weekend. The elite men’s race takes place this Sunday and highlights Mathieu van der Poel as the man to beat, and a group of competitors, including Eli Iserbyt, are looking to capitalize on any small mistakes the Dutchman makes.
The start of the test will be decisive
“A lot depends on how Mathieu starts and his condition on the day. If he rides like he did in Hamme and Hoogerheide, we will try to stay with him as much as possible. On the other hand, it can easily go astray.”
“However, the longer he waits, the more our morale will be boosted,” argued Eli Iserbyt in an interview with Dutch website In de Leiderstrui. “Following Mathieu is a risk. Older people may consider it, while younger people may not.”
Netherlands and Belgium are rivals in Cyclocross
The Netherlands and Belgium enter with several medal candidates and will probably dominate the front of the race. “Every Dutch person is the same. All three (van der Haar, Nieuwenhuis, Ronhaar) are equally good. Sometimes one is better, other times another.”
They will probably be Iserbyt’s main rivals in the race, while he could count on the collaboration of European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout and perhaps Thibau Nys. “All the Dutch are very good and could easily occupy the top four positions, so we cannot be indifferent to that”, concludes Iserbyt.