by
Last Saturday, Belgian rider Eli Iserbyt was involved in an accident with Dutch rider Ryan Kamp at Exact Cross Beringen. Iserbyt became frustrated after the incident and subsequently stepped on Kamp’s steering wheel, resulting in his immediate disqualification and a 100 Swiss franc fine. At first it looked like that would be the end of the matter, but today the UCI announced that Iserbyt would face a three-race ban and an additional fine of 2,500 Swiss francs.
Iserbyt, who is 26 years old and the 2020 European Cross Country Champion, now faces this serious penalty at a crucial point in the season. While his frustration was evident during the race, the repercussions reached far beyond the competition, with many fans and pundits speculating about the severity of the penalty.
Kamp, who was directly affected by Iserbyt’s actions, has responded to the suspension and shared his thoughts on the incident. After the Exact Cross Essen, where he finished sixteenth due to bad luck, the Dutch rider seemed to downplay the seriousness of the situation.
“It happened,” Kamp told Wielerflits. “I can fuss about it for a whole week, but the season is still long, so I’d rather focus on that.” Iserbyt called on Saturday evening and apologized. I don’t know why I wouldn’t accept that. For me it was then over.
Despite the UCI’s decision to impose further penalties, Kamp appears to have put the incident behind him and is instead focusing on the rest of the cyclocross season rather than just dwelling on what happened in Beringen.
This suspension will mean Iserbyt will miss crucial races and his absence will certainly impact the competition as the season progresses. However, after Kamp accepted the apology, it seems, at least among the drivers, that the incident is already behind them.
