ProTeam Alec Segaert takes silver in Belgian time trial championships

Alec Segaert has won the silver medal at the Belgian time trial championships in Herzele. The 20-year-old rider was only beaten by Wout Van Aert on the 41 kilometres long course, ridden in damp weather conditions. Segaert finished the time trial in 52’42”, Van Aert was the only rider to improve the time of the Lotto Dstny rider with just under 50 seconds and took the Belgian title.

The youngster, who recently won the Giro Next Gen time trial, looks back on his first Belgian time trial championships amongst the pros. “To immediately take silver in my first Belgian ITT championships with the pros definitely makes me very happy. To be honest, I didn’t expect this result and maybe this second place became a possibility due to the known circumstances. I am very proud of this performance because the course wasn’t easy at all, definitely with the damp weather. Always accelerating after the corners made it a kind of interval race but that suits me and I used that to my advantage.”

“Winning the Giro Next Gen time trial gave me a lot of confidence. Those eight days of racing were ideal to sharpen the shape some more towards this Belgian championship. There wasn’t much time to recover but I took it easy after the Giro to prepare for this time trial and we succeeded in that. The gap towards Van Aert, some 50 seconds, is something that I am satisfied about. It was my first time riding such a long time trial, the one of the U23 Worlds last year was ‘only’ 28 kilometres for example. This only gives me more confidence towards the future.”

With the Belgian road race in Izegem this Sunday, a new assignment awaits. “A race of 230 kilometres will also be a new experience for me but the shape is there and I want to contribute my share to the team. And because I am racing close to my home, it will motivate me even more”, concludes Alec Segaert.

Images: Photo News.