Alec Segaert pulled off the kind of victory that leaves sprint teams staring at each other wondering what just happened.
The young Belgian from Bahrain Victorious launched a perfectly timed attack with just over three kilometers remaining and stayed clear to take a sensational first Grand Tour stage win in Novi Ligure. Behind, fellow Belgian Toon Aerts completed a memorable day for the black-yellow-red brigade by sprinting to second, just three seconds later, while Guillermo Thomas Silva rounded out the podium from a reduced bunch.
After Jhonatan Narváez struck again on Giro Stage 11, it was another beautiful day on the Ligurian coast – starting in Imperia and heading east – backwards along the Maila-San Remo route.
Stage 12 Route: Milano–Sanremo Roads in Reverse
Stage 12, a 175-kilometer run from Imperia to Novi Ligure, looked tailor-made for a reduced sprint—but only if the fast men could survive the day’s selective terrain. The climbs of Colle Giovo and Bric Berton weren’t monstrous on paper, but coming deep into the Giro, they packed enough sting to make life uncomfortable for pure sprinters. More than 50 rolling kilometers remained after the final categorized climb, but the constant up-and-down roads offered plenty of opportunity for teams to complicate matters.
Final Kilometers
The finale is built for speed. The last 3 kilometers are virtually straight, interrupted only by a few roundabouts that shouldn’t disrupt the flow but will make positioning critical. With the final bend coming a full 3 km from the line, the stage ends on a long, drag-strip 2.8-kilometer run-in—perfect terrain for powerful sprint trains, late attacks, and high-speed chaos.
Breakaway Chaos From the Gun
As expected, the opening kilometers were pure Giro madness – check out that single file line along the coast below.
A five-man break eventually escaped featuring Dutchman Jardi Christiaan van der Lee, Belgian Jonas Geens, Juan Pedro López, Manuele Tarozzi, and Mattia Bais. But with sprint teams like Unibet Rose Rockets and Soudal Quick-Step dreaming of opportunities for Dylan Groenewegen and Paul Magnier, the leash stayed short. The gap barely touched two minutes before the bunch started tightening the screws.
The uneasy truce sparked another wave of attacks, swelling the front with riders like Jasper Stuyven, Oliver Naesen, and Fabio Van den Bossche before the race reshuffled yet again. Eventually, a smaller six-man move—including Van der Lee, Geens, Tarozzi, Fredrik Dversnes, Johan Jacobs, and Jonas Rutsch—finally established some daylight.
Movistar Turns the Screws
Then came Movistar.
The Spanish squad hit the front on the Colle Giovo and cranked the pace hard in support of Orluis Aular, clearly intent on softening the sprint field. The effect was immediate. Big-name fast men began disappearing off the back—Dylan Groenewegen, Tobias Lund Andresen, Pascal Ackermann, and Jensen Plowright all found themselves in trouble. Even Giro sprint heavyweight Jonathan Milan was hanging on by a thread.
Milan briefly clawed his way back after the first climb, but the Bric Berton proved one hill too far. Just over a kilometer from the summit, the Italian finally cracked, joining Magnier and Casper van Uden in a desperate chase behind a front group that had clearly decided the day would not be won by the pure speedsters.
Up front, Movistar, NSN Cycling, and EF Education-EasyPost kept the pressure relentless, knowing their surviving fast men—Ethan Vernon and Madis Mihkels—stood to benefit from a reduced sprint. The gap to Milan’s group hovered tantalizingly close, but never close enough. With 20 kilometers remaining it was clear the top sprinters weren’t coming back.
Segaert Times It Perfectly
Before the finale lit up, pink jersey Afonso Eulálio quietly helped himself to six bonus seconds at the Red Bull Kilometer, while Ben O’Connor grabbed four. Otherwise, the GC men remained calm. A late move from Giulio Ciccone, joined by Igor Arrieta, briefly threatened to shake things up, but the pair were reeled back as Visma | Lease a Bike resumed control.
And then—boom.
With just over three kilometers remaining, Alec Segaert attacked.
The Belgian snuck around Visma Lease-A-Bike who were on the front, opened a dangerous gap almost instantly, and caught the sprint teams in that classic moment of hesitation where everyone waits for someone else to close it down. By the time Uno-X Mobility finally took charge, Segaert was gone.
He hit the final kilometer with more than ten seconds in hand and never looked back.
Behind, the bunch charged too late. Toon Aerts surged to second to complete a Belgian one-two, while Guillermo Thomas Silva finished third. But the day belonged entirely to Segaert—young, fearless, and suddenly a Grand Tour stage winner.
Giro d’Italia 2026 Stage 12 Video Hilights
QUOTES
Speaking seconds after the finish, the stage winner Alec Segaert said: “This is super amazing, my first win in the Giro d’Italia! I came here to race in the young category as well. I had the Maglia Rosa at the Giro NextGen. To do it here on the biggest stage… The Giro was already amazing for the team with Afonso wearing the Maglia Rosa. Yesterday evening I decided to attack with 3km to go. I kept it in mind all day today. I was really happy with how the race was going. There was a hard pace on the climb. It made the teammates of the sprinters tired. It was my chance to attack when I wanted to. For this result, you give everything. Winning is the best thing to do after a bit of a disappointment in the time trial. It’s the right way to come back stronger”.
2026 Giro d’Italia Results Stage 12
2026 Giro d’Italia Overall Results After Stage 12
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