Alec Segaert defends his European U23 ITT title: "I had a very good day. I immediately had a good feeling"

The top favorite does it. Just like last year, Alec Segaert is crowned European time trial champion among the U23 riders. The 20-year-old Belgian takes his first gold medal this season after silver at the U23 World Time Trial Championships and the Elite Time Trial Championships.

The wind blew strongly in Emmen, but the young Belgian also blew everyone away: "I had a very good day. I immediately left with a good feeling. It almost happened automatically. I could easily achieve the wattages I had set. At the first intermediate time I was immediately ahead of the opposition. I had the feeling that I was not going to collapse immediately," Segaert tells Sporza after the race.

Was this a World Championships rematch? "Maybe so, but my feeling was also good at the time. One person was better then. Milesi was not here today, perhaps a shame on this course. I really had the feeling that I rode great and wanted to know what it had been like against him on this course."

What did he think of the course? "At the European Championships it is often a little shorter. It was only 20 km. But the results don't lie. If it is as flat as here, it is the same for everyone. Pounding and pounding as hard as possible through the wind. I can do that quite well. Good."