Alec Segaert shows resilience after heartbreaking Nokere finish and powers to GP Denain victory

GP Denain is known as a mini-Paris-Roubaix, and with good reason. The riders had to tackle no fewer than 23 kilometres of cobbles across 13 sectors, although all of those sectors were packed into the second half of the more than 200-kilometre route. In 2025, Visma talent Matthew Brennan won the French cobbled race, but the defending champion was not on the start line this time. Even without him, the field was still strong, with names such as Tibor Del Grosso, Arnaud De Lie, Jordi Meeus, Gianni Vermeersch, Nils Politt and Cees Bol all lining up.

It took almost 100 kilometres before the day’s break finally went clear. Only when the cobbled sectors started to loom did nine riders manage to detach themselves from the peloton. Among those active at the front were Visma youngster Ashlin Barry and Aaron Gate of XDS Astana. Even so, the advantage of the nine leaders never grew much beyond two minutes.

On the second cobbled sector of the day, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe already began to turn the screw, splitting the peloton and nearly bringing back the break immediately. Once the race returned to smoother roads, things came back together again, although De Lie had to chase after suffering a mechanical problem.

Led by Unibet Rose Rockets, the breakaway was finally caught with 60 kilometres to go, but that also signalled the start of the real finale. Straight away, a wave of attacks followed, including moves from Del Grosso and Segaert, while De Lie punctured for a second time. Ten kilometres later, the Lotto-Intermarché rider punctured yet again, and that effectively ended his chances.

At the front, Per Strand Hagenes had gone clear together with Segaert, who had already made such an impression at Nokere. Del Grosso still tried to bridge across, but got stranded in no man’s land and eventually dropped back. In the peloton, Antonio Morgado of UAE Team Emirates-XRG emptied himself in the chase on behalf of sprinter Juan Sebastian Molano.

The leading duo were able to hold a gap of around 30 seconds, while the men of Visma | Lease a Bike did an excellent job of disrupting the chase behind. With 25 kilometres remaining, a counterattack finally came, as a group of nine riders including Anthony Turgis and Vermeersch seemed to find some cohesion and set off in pursuit of the two leaders.

That move did not last long. A few kilometres later, the sprinters’ teams had already brought the counterattack back, while Segaert and Hagenes still held a lead of around 20 seconds. Behind them, Brent Van Moer of Q36.5 tried to bridge the gap on his own.

With 16 kilometres to go, Van Moer finally got company in the chase. Del Grosso, Vermeersch and Politt were among those who joined him, forming a seven-man group behind the leaders. But the gap did not come down quickly, hovering at around 30 seconds, while the peloton itself had drifted to nearly a minute.

Remarkably, it was Visma | Lease a Bike — the team with Hagenes up front — that was still helping to drive the chase in the peloton. Meanwhile, on the final cobbled sector, the Norwegian tried to shake off his Belgian companion. Segaert refused to give in, however, and stayed just a few metres behind. With a lead of 35 seconds and only eight kilometres left, the two leaders still looked in excellent shape.

From that final cobbled stretch onward, Segaert deliberately sat around ten metres behind Hagenes, creating a striking image. But the lack of cooperation behind meant the peloton kept inching closer, cutting the deficit to only 20 seconds with five kilometres to go. In the bunch, Matyas Kopecky was among the riders to crash.

Segaert appeared to be riding with real calculation, forcing Hagenes to do the work until the Norwegian cracked. With two kilometres left, the Belgian launched clear on his own. At Nokere Koerse, he had been caught in the final metres, and in Denain it looked as though it might become tight once again for the Bahrain Victorious rider.

This time, though, he held on. Segaert entered the final kilometre alone, repeatedly looking over his shoulder as the peloton thundered closer, but unlike in Nokere, he was able to complete the job. It was a superb victory for the Belgian, who had already impressed the day before. Menten won the sprint for second.