Jasper Philipsen opens 2026 account with Nokere Koerse victory
The Belgian rider from Alpecin-Premier Tech won the 2026 Nokere Koerse after Alec Segaert was caught inside the last 300 metres following a 15-kilometre effort.
Jasper Philipsen timed his sprint to perfection to open his 2026 account for the season, after heartbreak for Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious), whose 15-kilometre solo effort for stage victory was cruelly denied by a swarming peloton inside the last 300 metres after an uphill drag to the line in Nokere.
The day began relatively relaxed as a four-man breakaway quickly established itself up the road. Inside the group were Lionel Taminiaux (Lotto Intermarché), Sean Christian (Modern Adventure), and two riders from Tarteletto–Isorex, Jonah Killy and Jelle Harteel.
As the race progressed, the situation remained the same, with the breakaway's gap stretching to just under four minutes until the peloton started to increase the pace behind.
With 32 kilometres to go, the breakaway was caught, setting up a frantic finale that included several crashes, the most notable involving Hugo Hofstetter (NSN Cycling Team).
Philipsen (Alpecin–Premier Tech) had an unorthodox shoe change in the last 20 kilometres, but it did not cause any problems as the Belgian made it back to the peloton easily.
Inside the final 15 kilometres, the peloton remained tightly packed as the riders hit the various cobbled sectors in the finale. Alec Segaert (Bahrain Victorious) attacked with 13 kilometres to go and, with his time trial pedigree, quickly built up a gap of up to 16 seconds as the peloton worked to reel him in.
Segaert appeared to have played a blinder heading into the final 8 kilometres. His gap stretched to just shy of 30 seconds, while a group of Bahrain Victorious riders sat at the front of the peloton, disrupting the chase.
The race victory hung in the balance in the final three kilometres, with Segaert’s advantage dropping to 20 seconds as a more cohesive chase formed behind. Teams such as Lotto Intermarché and Jayco AlUla joined the pursuit and, with the draggy finish, it proved to be heartbreak for Segaert, who was caught inside the last 300 metres by the charging peloton.
Philipsen launched his sprint as soon as the catch was made and proved the strongest, winning clearly and opening his 2026 account.
Next up fot the Belgian is Milan Sanremo on Saturday, where the 2024 winner aims to be part of the winning team once more at the Monument.
Result: Nokere Koerse
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