by Eli Iserbyt’s 2024-25 cyclocross race got off to an inauspicious start last week after the Belgian was disqualified from his first race of the season, the Exact Cross in Beringen, for deliberately stepping on the bike of his rival Ryan Kamp (Alpecin-Deceuninck). was.
Now the Belgian was punished again and the UCI imposed a three-race ban for this incident.
Iserbyt’s Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal team confirmed the ban on Saturday and announced that the UCI had decided to ban the reigning Belgian and UCI World Cup champion.
Iserbyt and Kamp crashed on a muddy descent as they closed in on a five-man lead group on the fifth of eight laps in Beringen. After picking up his bike, Iserbyt climbed over Kamps and stomped onto Dutchman’s Canyon.
Kamp then grabbed Iserbyt as the two exchanged words before both men struggled to get going again. Iserbyt got back on his Ridley and set off in first place, while Kamp was forced to run to the pits to change bikes as his own bike appeared to have a broken rear derailleur.
An official stationed in the pits disqualified Iserbyt later in the race, while Kamp finished in 22nd place, 3:50 minutes behind winner Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions).
Iserbyt, who came second at the Kermiscross in Ardooie on Thursday, will now miss this weekend’s races at the Exact Cross in Essen and the Superprestige in Ruddervoorde.
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“Eli Iserbyt will not start in Essen and Ruddervoorde this weekend. He will also remain on the sidelines in Heerderstrand, Netherlands. The UCI has banned the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal rider for three races after his slip at the opening cross in Beringen. ” explained Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal.
“Halfway through the Exact Cross in Beringen, Eli Iserbyt was taken out of the race. The driver of Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal crashed along with another driver, after which tempers calmed down for a while. This earned Iserbyt a fine of 100 Swiss francs after the race.
“Eli Iserbyt apologized to the rider involved after the race, but the UCI has since also announced an additional sanction. The rider will be banned for three races, meaning he will miss the Exact Cross in Essen and the Telenet Superprestige in Ruddervoorde and the race in Heerderstrand, Netherlands. In addition, an additional fine of 2,500 francs will be imposed [£2,215].”
Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal team manager Jürgen Mettepenningen said the UCI “could have solved this differently,” noting that he had hoped the previous punishment would be enough.
“Eli has already publicly apologized, including to Kamp himself,” he said. “I was hoping that he had already had his punishment of disqualification and fine behind him. This additional sanction will impact the Superprestige rankings.”
“Eli also misses out on the entry fee and that is a shame for the organizers of these three races. The UCI could have solved this differently.”
Eli Iserbyt met Ryan Kamp. #veldrijden pic.twitter.com/92JiLn6nXYOctober 12, 2024
