Belgian cyclocross star Eli Iserbyt has announced his sudden retirement on Thursday evening, the 28-year-old revealing in an emotional Instagram post that he has been advised to stop riding his bike altogether following years of persistent blood flow problems.
A two-time U23 world champion in cyclocross, Iserbyt has established himself as one of the discipline’s most successful, consistent, and exciting riders of the 2020s, securing two world championship bronze medals, winning 54 times at elite level, including the Belgian national championships in 2024 and a European title in 2020.
Iserbyt also secured two world championship bronze medals, and was a constant threat in the sport’s season-long competitions, stringing together a remarkable record that saw him come out on top of either the Superprestige or X20 Badkamers Trofee every year this decade, while also winning the UCI World Cup twice in 2022 and 2024.
However, in recent seasons, Iserbyt has been plagued by several injuries, including three years of nerve distress in his left leg, which was discovered earlier this year to be caused by limited blood flow in the femoral artery in his left leg.
The Belgian was forced to miss a number of races in 2024 due to sciatica, caused by a compressed intervertebral disc in his lower back, which led to pain in his back and legs. Iserbyt put his absence down to Piriformis syndrome, a condition of sciatic nerve entrapment which causes pain and numbness in the buttocks, hip, or upper leg.
He still managed to win four races during the 2024/25 campaign, but was forced to cut his season short, his final professional race coming at the Brussels Universities X20 Trofee race, where he finished sixth.
After limited blood flow in his left leg was determined to be the cause of his nerve issues, Iserbyt underwent four surgeries throughout 2025 in a bid to correct the pinched artery.
After undergoing an extensive rehabilitation process, the 28-year-old had originally earmarked a return to the sport in November, but problems in training and flare up of his blood flow problems brought his planned return to a juddering halt.
“Two weeks ago, we were still optimistic, but the old injury has again caused problems in training,” Jurgen Mettepenningen, the manager of Iserbyt’s Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw team, told Het Nieuwsblad at the start of November.
“The positive mood of the past few weeks suddenly turned negative. He’s experiencing problems with circulation in his left leg again, which isn’t optimal.”
And now, after undergoing further tests in recent weeks, Iserbyt has confirmed that his cycling career is over – and that, due to the extent of his injuries, he has been advised to stop riding his bike altogether.
“The past few weeks, I have received the news from multiple doctors that it’s no longer medically advisable for me to ride my bike, recreationally and competitively,” a clearly emotional Iserbyt said in a short video message posted to his Instagram account.
“I’ve always shared the beautiful moments with you, but now I also wanted to share this news with you, that, unfortunately, it is no longer possible for me to continue my career.”
> road.cc Podcast: Lucinda Brand and Eli Iserbyt on the future of cyclocross
Speaking to road.cc in 2023, Iserbyt admitted that the short, condensed nature of the winter cyclocross season could have a negative effect on specialists racing the entire campaign.
“I was in bed at 1am this morning!” the Belgian said at the time of his pre-race preparation for the Dublin round of the World Cup.
“It’s tough, but I hope I can keep doing it. It takes a lot of energy. The season is short, but I like doing a lot of races.
“I think as riders, we’ve said for the last three years that something needs to change, because it’s not doable. And now you see riders choosing their own programme. So maybe we should listen to each other, and find a more durable programme.”
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18 thoughts on “Cyclocross star told by doctors to stop cycling completely after blood flow problems force early retirement”
I don’t think it’s a tragedy
I don’t think it’s a tragedy for the Cyclo Cross world. He may be talented, but he’s not very sporting. The way he and Vanthourenhart have used questionable team tactics in order for one or the other to win has been unsportsmanlike in my opinion, one deliberately holding the rest back whilst the other gets a big gap.
This season the racing has been much better, more open and exciting and up and coming riders have managed to get on the podium.
Iserbyt showed his true colours when he stamped on Ryan Kamps bike last year.
Are you serious ? ? It really
Are you serious ? ? It really is a tragedy. 28 years old and you have to give up what you’ve always lived for.
I didn’t say it wasn’t a
I didn’t say it wasn’t a tragedy for Iserbyt, I said it wasn’t a tragedy for the cyclo cross world. He hasn’t been very gracious and sporting in his career has he?
The cross racing is much more open and entertaining without the tag team of Iserbyt and Vanthourenhart.
He’s 28 not 18, he’s a few
He’s 28 not 18, he’s a few years from retirement in the sport so needs to bring forward his long-term plans. Recreational riding is a big blow but he can do a plethora of other sports plus the gym so it’s not a tragedy it’s effectively an enforced life style and career change.
stevemaiden wrote:
I’m not a fan by any means but that’s a bit unsympathetic in my opinion. At 28 he could have reasonably expected at least another five years if not more before having to think about retirement, and his retirement plans may well have involved cycling in some other respect, leading tour groups, coaching et cetera, which he now can’t follow through because he can’t ride a bike at all. For anyone, if you’ve got a job you love, being told at the age of 28 that not only are you out of a job but you won’t be able to get a job in the same field is going to be pretty devastating. I don’t know about the “plethora of other sports plus the gym” you assume he can still enjoy, one would assume the circulatory problem will impact on those as well and in any case nobody is going to be paying him to do those activities. Tragedy might sound overstated but in fact the definition of tragedy is “an unexpected sad event causing death, suffering or great distress.” It is an unexpected sad event and it will doubtless cause him great distress.
Are you serious ? ? It really
Are you serious ? ? It really is a tragedy. 28 years old and you have to give up what you’ve always lived for.
I never liked him, but he was
I wouldn’t wish his fate on any rider. I never liked him, but he was pretty entertaining.
your parents must be really
your parents must be really proud
Yeah, you mean as proud as
Yeah, you mean as proud as his parents, watching him act like a smacked ass week after week?
wow! really, that just proves
wow! really, that just proves you have never raced a push bike in anger, Eli had passion and fire and determination to do well in cyclo cross, he was a cross character allright and plenty of run ins with other riders! that is because he wanted to win! He made cyclo cross interesting to watch and he also had to contend with the strongest era of cyclo cross with M vdP and Wout. So he did well considering, Best wishes to Eli going forwar, well done on what you acheived in your shortened career! Chapeau.
mikeyboy247 wrote:
Plenty of other riders have “passion and fire and determination to do well” in CX but seem to manage to avoid being total dicks to their fellow riders.
Every pro rider has passion
Every pro rider has passion and fire it’s a prerequisite to reach a high level – plus natural talent. That however has nothing to do with acting like a brat. These personality types are everywhere in life and anyone is free to call them out in public because brattish behaviour is simply unacceptable and damages people who come across it. I say, good riddance.
He was a talented rider who
He was a talented rider who didn’t need to cheat, and spit his dummy out every time things didn’t go his way.
He didn’t have plenty of run ins with his competitors because he wanted to win, he had plenty of run ins because of his attitude.
Champions don’t stamp on rivals bikes intentionally breaking them.
You have absolutely no idea what I have achieved during my racing career pal.
Push bike. Really? lol
Everything I won, every record I broke, was done with the utmost respect for my competitors. The guys I raced against have the utmost respect for me too.
I can look at my jerseys, trophies and medals won and be proud.
what record(s) did you break?
what record(s) did you break?
The Batman Soundtrack,
The Batman Soundtrack, Diamond Life, and some Dire Straits.
Real champions don’t brag. He
Real champions don’t brag. He could have broken Roxanne by the Police for all I care what I see here is him calling out bad behaviour in sport and that’s vital.
Must be a very small cabinet!
Must be a very small cabinet!
Sports fans want to see a
Sports fans want to see a something spectacular, sportsmen and women want to win (1st. is first and 2nd. is nowhere etc.). There may be other riders who camouflage their desire to be on the top of the podium but that’s where they all want to be.