ProTeam Alec Segaert looks ahead to the Tour of Denmark: "Denmark is similar to Flemish racing and that suits me"

Arnaud De Lie will not be present in Denmark this time, opting instead for the Bemer–Renewi combination after an exhausting Tour de France. One rider who will be there is Alec Segaert. He’s swapping Renewi- where he claimed his first WorldTour victory last year in the time trial- for the Tour of Denmark this year. "The Renewi Tour doesn’t have an individual time trial on the program this year," explains Alec Segaert. "That made us decide to change the planning."

For Segaert, Denmark will be his first race since the Belgian Championships at the end of June. "After that, I took some rest and then went on training camp and altitude, first in Portugal, then in Sestriere, Italy. After such a long period without racing, it’s always a bit of a question how the legs will feel, but I’m looking forward to it. Denmark reminds me a bit of Flemish racing: lots of twists and turns, narrow roads, short climbs, and wind that can play a role… The Tour of Denmark really has that Flemish style and that suits me."

Unsurprisingly, Segaert has also set his sights on the 14-kilometre time trial in Kerteminde, scheduled for day three. "We have a course with few corners, almost flat, not too difficult or technical. There’s strong competition, also for the GC, with riders like Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose, Johan Price-Pejtersen… There are some strong blocks at the start. I expect that especially in stage four, the longest one at nearly 230 kilometres, the GC could be shaken up. But with a good time trial, it’s always possible to aim for a strong overall result."

Picture: Brecht Steenhouwer