"I had it in mind to attack at that moment" - Alec Segaert reveals stunning Giro stage 12 heist was pre-planned move

Alec Segaert did not win stage 12 of the Giro d’Italia by accident. After Movistar had spent the decisive part of the day tearing the sprint field apart, the Bahrain - Victorious rider saw the moment, trusted the plan and launched the move that left the reduced peloton staring at his back wheel on the long road into Novi Ligure.

The Belgian attacked inside the final three kilometres, just as the remaining fast men and their tired support riders were trying to organise one last chase. Fabio Van den Bossche briefly tried to respond, but Segaert had already forced the race into the shape he wanted.

A roundabout in the final kilometre helped interrupt the chase behind, and from there the 23-year-old powered clear to take the biggest victory of his career.

For Bahrain - Victorious, it was another huge moment in a Giro already transformed by Afonso Eulalio’s run in the maglia rosa. For Segaert, it also wiped away the frustration of his stage 10 time trial, where he had arrived with hopes of a much stronger result before finishing well outside the fight for the day’s podium.

The final move came after a stage that had been made brutally awkward for the sprinters. Movistar had driven the race on the Colle Giovo and Bric Berton to distance Paul Magnier, Jonathan Milan, Dylan Groenewegen and several other fast men, while EF Education-EasyPost and NSN Cycling Team later helped keep the reduced peloton clear.

That effort left the surviving sprint teams with little margin by the time the race hit the final straight approach to Novi Ligure. Segaert said afterwards he had already identified the opportunity before making his move.

“I had it in mind to attack at that moment,” he explained after the stage. “I was happy with how the race was going on the climbs and I saw that the team-mates of the sprinters who were left had made such a big effort, so I knew I wanted to go hard when they were all on the limit. For this result, you want to give everything.”

It was the perfect reading of a messy finale. The pure sprinters had gone, the reduced bunch still had quick riders, but the control behind was thin enough for a powerful late attacker to gamble. Segaert took that gamble before the sprint trains could properly reset.

Segaert’s win added another layer to Bahrain Victorious’ remarkable race. Eulalio had already carried the pink jersey through the first half of the Giro and even strengthened his lead over Jonas Vingegaard by taking six bonus seconds earlier on stage 12.

Segaert, meanwhile, brought his own history with Italian racing into the moment. “It’s super amazing,” he said. “It’s my first Giro d’Italia. I raced a lot when I was younger to race in the youth categories in Italy and I wore the maglia rosa in the Giro Next Gen, but then to do it here on the bigger stage... well, this Giro was already amazing for the team with Afonso Eulalio’s pink jersey.”

That made the victory more than just a late-stage ambush. Segaert had already known what it felt like to succeed in Italy as a young rider. Winning at the Giro itself, with Bahrain already defending the race lead, gave the day a very different weight.

The win also came with a personal edge. Segaert had been one of the riders expected to feature more strongly in the long individual time trial to Massa, but stage 10 ended in disappointment rather than confirmation of his reputation against the clock.

Two days later, he used the same engine in a completely different way. Instead of a measured time-trial effort, this was a violent late acceleration at the exact point when hesitation behind could decide the stage. “Winning is the best thing there is,” Segaert said. “And after a bit of disappointment in the TT, this is the best way to put things right.”

The result also transformed his Giro on paper. He surged up the points classification after taking the stage win, while Bahrain Victorious moved through another day with both pink and fresh momentum.

Movistar had done most of the work to break the race open. EF, NSN and others had helped make sure the pure sprinters did not return. But Segaert read the final better than everyone, and when the moment came, he already knew exactly where he wanted to attack.