Alec Segaert devastated after late heartbreak in Nokere - 'When I saw the shadow, I knew'

Jasper Philipsen ultimately claimed victory with a perfectly timed sprint, but much of the story belonged to Segaert’s brave attack and cruel late catch in the final metres.

The Bahrain Victorious rider had animated the race with a bold move in the closing phase, attacking with around 13 kilometres to go. On terrain that suited his time trial strengths, he quickly built a gap that grew to nearly half a minute as the peloton hesitated behind him.

“It’s obviously a big disappointment,” Segaert said afterwards to Sporza, still visibly shaken. “My legs just didn’t want to go anymore.”

His move had not come out of nowhere. The plan had been clear from the start, targeting a specific section of the course to make the difference. “I didn’t have time to hesitate and just went all in. This was actually the plan beforehand,” he explained.

Segaert pointed to the wind conditions as a key factor in his timing. “The hard part of the loop was with a tailwind, but the long road after that was headwind. I wanted to go all in on the final lap and see if a gap would open. I ended up alone and just kept going.”

Behind him, his teammates played their part by disrupting the chase, allowing the gap to stretch further than many expected. For a moment, it looked like the perfect execution of a textbook late attack.

“I heard my teammates were doing a great job slowing things down behind me. That makes it even more frustrating that I couldn’t finish it off,” he said.

As the race entered the final kilometres, however, the dynamic began to shift. The peloton reorganised, with several teams committing to the chase, while the uphill drag to the finish gradually drained Segaert’s legs.

In the final moments, instinct took over. “I didn’t dare to look back,” he said. “I could hear the encouragement from Nicolas Maes, he’s one of the best at that, but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be.”

The decisive moment came when he sensed what was happening behind him. “When I saw the shadow coming from behind, then… yeah,” Segaert said. “I knew.”

Caught inside the final 300 metres, he could do little as Philipsen surged past to take the win. For Segaert, it was a brutal reminder of how unforgiving racing can be.

Still, despite the disappointment, there were positives to take. “It was great to see that our young team immediately wanted to go all in for me,” he said. “That’s why I came here, and it’s something I’ll take with me for the rest of the spring.”