For Belgium's Alec Segaerts, it was a case of déjà vu at the U23 men's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships. The location may have been different – from the sun of Wollongong in Australia, to the overcast skies of Stirling in Scotland – but the result was the same.
For the second year in a row, the 20-year-old Lotto-Dstny rider came away from the time trial with a silver medal in his hand, this time having started the day as the favourite to win the rainbow jersey.
Segaert had started the 36.2km out-and-back run in Stirling well, posting the quickest times at the first two checkpoints, but his Italian rival Lorenzo Milesi rode a negative split to go quicker on the hillier, latter part of the course.
In the end, at the top of the cobbled road to Stirling Castle, Segaert had missed out on the win by 11 seconds, ending on the second step of the podium once again.
"It's a bit of mixed feelings, of course," Segaert said in the post-race press conference. "Last year I also had silver and it was more of a victory than today. Before the race started, I said that if I gave it my all and there was one man stronger, then I have to be happy with my performance. That's what I feel right now.
"Immediately after the race I felt that there was nothing much more I could give – there were no places where I lost it really. I started ambitious and fell back a little bit in the end on the last climb, I was a little bit too empty."
Segaert was disappointed but felt that he couldn't have realistically raced any better on the day, then. He couldn't point out any points along the course where things had gone awry, instead just crediting Milesi with a great ride.
"You see I have 39 seconds between me and the third guy. So, I actually rode a really good TT and if I won this race with the same time I would say everything went perfectly. There was just one man stronger, so he deserves it."
While Milesi turned pro with Team dsm-firmenich at the start of the season and has already taken on several WorldTour races, Segaert took the step up with Lotto in February, though so far has raced a largely-U23 calendar, including the Giro Next Gen and Paris-Roubaix Espoirs.
Segaert raced alongside Milesi a lot prior to 2023, though, including during the final stage of last year's Tour de l'Avenir over the Col d'Iseran – Milesi won the stage with Segaert in second. He did admit to being surprised that Milesi, who wasn't a favourite for the win, came out on top again here.
"Actually a little bit," he said when asked if he was surprised. "He is a very strong rider, and I've known him for some time already. In every race I compete where he is, I always count on him to be one of the best men in the race on any profile.
"Last year in [Belgian U23 stage race] Le Tryptique des Monts et Châteaux there was a TT of 14 kilometres where he beat me by two seconds but then in the European and World Championships, he was 45 seconds or a minute behind me. I was surprised by that actually – the previous championships.
"I thought today that of course he's always a good time triallist but I didn't really expect him to beat me. But I can only say that he rode a magnificent TT and that he deserves it."
Segaert couldn't say whether Milesi's WorldTour experience contributed to the win, with the Italian having taken in races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Pologne so far in 2023.
He was confident starting out the day but will now end his day in the consoling arms of his fan club, 50 of whom made the trip to Scotland to support him this week.
"I rode one long TT – the Belgian Championships was 42 kilometres. That was good preparation for this one, for sure," he said. "I was confident that this distance would suit me. It's also a very honest course, this TT, so I just think he has the strength and power to give it his all and he's just super strong, so I have to congratulate him.
"I have to say I have one of the best fan clubs in the world, I think. There are around 50 people here for me. I don't think there are guys here who have more supporters, even the guys from England or Scotland.
"I hope they have a good party tonight even though I may not have one that they hoped for and what I hoped for myself. I will for sure go and meet them after this press conference."
