Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal teammates Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout moved to dispel an argument during the third round of the DVV Trofee in Kortrijk on Saturday in which Vanthourenhout Vanthourenhout moved to dispel an altercation in which he expressed frustration at being chased by a teammate.

With three laps to go in the new Urbancross round of the Belgian cyclo-cross series, Vanthourenhout, the lone chaser, was the lone attacker on his path to victory as Mathieu Van der Pol (Corendon-Circus) attacked alone to did his best to close the gap, or at least limit it.

But behind him, series leader Iserbitt led a chase group that included Tim Mellier (Clairfin Fristads) and the Telenet Baloise Lions Toon Arts and Lars van der Haar. When they caught up with Vanthourenhout again, he was gesturing furiously at his teammates.

Iserbitt defended his ride to HLN.be on Saturday evening, saying that as the overall series leader, he was trying to limit himself from losing to van der Pol in a competition where the overall standings are determined by the riders' combined times, not points.

"Honestly, I have no idea why Michael reacted so bitterly," Iserbitt told a Belgian website. 'I saw that Mathieu was getting off easy, so I tried to follow him.' [But] as the leader of the DVV Trophy, I think I had the right to try. 'I didn't think there was enough of a gap to keep Michal in front in a race that fast. I was just defending my position as leader and I think I did well."

The website also suggests that the two had already had some sort of altercation two weeks earlier in the fourth round of the World Cup in Tabor, Czech Republic.

"In a team with three leaders, it is not easy to determine the pecking order," Iserbitt added, referring to him, Bantulenhout, and Lawrence Sweck of Pauwels Sausen Bingor. 'It's up to the team management to decide who the leaders are. I am still the leader of the World Cup and the DVV Trophy and therefore of the team."

Meanwhile, Van Hollenhout wrote in a tweet on Saturday that he was frustrated that Iserbyt had closed the gap, but admitted he had overreacted and said the two had already let bygones be bygones.

Van der Pol's dominance of the cyclocross scene has extended his winning streak to 34 races, and there is little indication that his dominance will end anytime soon. However, his closest rival, three-time elite world champion Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), has announced his return to the discipline at the Azencross round of the DVV Trofee in Loenhout on December 27.

However, Van Aert is still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at the Tour de France, and it remains to be seen if the Belgian can mount any serious challenge against the Dutchman before the end of the 2019/20 cyclo-cross season It remains to be seen if the Belgian will be able to mount any serious challenge against the Dutchman before the end of the 2019/20 cyclo-cross season.