The 2022-2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup has kicked off in the USA and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen Bingoal) has powered to victory, as he likes to, opening the season strongly as he has done in recent years.
The Belgian star fulfilled high expectations as the winner of the overall standings last season and already triumphant on American soil in 2019 and 2021. Meanwhile, Iserbyt’s teammate, the young Dutchwoman Fem van Empel, impressed with successes, further demonstrating that she’s more than ready to vie with the world’s best riders.
Both Iserbyt and Van Empel won the first two rounds of UCI World Cup, in Waterloo and Fayetteville Arkansas (venue of the 2022 UCI World Championships). They lead the Elite overall standings ahead of the return to Europe.
🚀 Fem van Empel and @IserbytEli were unstoppable in Fayetteville 👏 #CXWorldCup pic.twitter.com/D4KsJAiNmE
— UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (@UCIcyclocrossWC) October 17, 2022
Solo and sprint wins for Iserbyt
The world’s best cyclo-cross experts first displayed their skills in Waterloo, where Iserbyt not only took the first win, but dominated his rivals in impressive fashion.
Already pushing the pace on the first lap, he went solo on the second lap. And nobody ever got back to him. Iserbyt eventually took the victory 32’’ ahead of his Belgian compatriot Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads). The Dutch European Champion Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) sprinted for 3rd (+1’18’’).
“It was good to ride alone because when you’re in the bunch and you have to pull in the front, you’re just putting the other guys in a chair,” Iserbyt explained. “I had a gap and I went full gas. Laurens kept the pressure really high so I had to push until the end but I’m happy with my form and happy with the win.”
Four days later, it was a tighter battle in Fayetteville, where Iserbyt took the bronze medal in the UCI World Championships at the beginning of the year. This time, he outsprinted Sweeck for the win, his 13th in the Elite category of the UCI World Cup (six of them in the USA). Michael Vanthourenhout (BEL, Pauwels Sauzen Bingoal) took 3rd ahead of the USA’s Eric Brunner, reigning Pan-American Champion.
As Iserbyt put it: “It ain’t over until it’s over.” He leads the early UCI World Cup standings with 80 points, 20 more than Sweeck. But this is just the beginning!
Van Empel wins against big names
At 20 years old, Van Empel doesn’t have the same American record as Eli Iserbyt but she’s quickly catching up to the biggest names of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. A bronze medallist in the Under 23 competition at the Fayetteville UCI Worlds, she also took two spectacular wins last season in Val di Sole (Italy) and Flamanville (France).
Still, it was an expression of disbelief that illuminated her face as she put her hands on her head after sprinting to victory in Waterloo. Van Empel was battling with two former UCI Elite Cyclo-cross World Champions, her compatriots Ceylin Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions). She rose to victory after a final push against Alvarado.
Brand tried again to shake Van Empel in Fayetteville but the rising star, set to join Jumbo-Visma on the road in 2023, resisted every attack. She eventually dominated a three-woman sprint also involving Annemarie Worst (777).
“Winning in the leader’s jersey is so cool,” Van Empel rejoiced. “This victory is a reward for all the hard work.”
Van Empel leads the standings with 80 points, 25 more than Brand.
The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup takes the best riders in the world to Tábor (Czech Republic) this weekend for the third round out of 14 events until the end of January. The Czech rendezvous will also see the first races of the season dedicated to the Men Under 23, Men Junior and Women Junior categories.