Eli Iserbyt has underwent a number of operations in recent months and has not yet been sufficiently recovered from them, says the organization of Koerse Winkel. They therefore had to look for a replacement quickly, and found it in Jo Planckaert. The former rider is already 54, and a descendant of the Planckaert cycling gender, as son of Walter and Neef of Eddy.
Jo Planckaert was active as a professional cyclist for 14 years, from 1991 to 2004, and won various competitions including Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (1999) and the final classification of the French ride competition Ster van Bessèges (1998).