Segaert stuns with late breakaway for his first Grand Tour stage win in Giro

NOVI LIGURE, Italy (AP) — Alec Segaert claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory and Bahrain Victorious teammate Afonso Eulálio increased his overall lead of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday.

The 12th stage was expected to end in a bunch sprint but Segaert jumped from the peloton with just over three kilometers remaining and the Belgian rider even had time to lift up his arms in celebration as he crossed the line.

“Wow, it’s super amazing. It’s my first Giro d’Italia … and then to do it here on the biggest stage, it’s amazing,” said the 23-year-old Segaert, who revealed he had planned the move the night before.

“I had it always in mind ... this was my chance to go in the final when they were all on the limit, to push one more effort and then for this result you want to give everything.”

Toon Aerts won the sprint for second place, 3 seconds behind his compatriot at the end of the mainly flat 175-kilometer (109-mile) route from Imperia to Novi Ligure. Guillermo Thomas Silva was third.

Most of the pure sprinters had been dropped on the two climbs shortly before the finale.

Nearly all of the general classification contenders were in the main bunch, but Eulálio picked up six bonus seconds earlier in the stage so increased his advantage to 33 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard.

Thymen Arensman is third overall, 2:03 behind Eulálio.

“It’s impossible not to be happy with this jersey but today is incredible, it’s perfect," Eulálio said. "Yesterday we changed rooms, (Segaert) is my roommate now and we planned this. But the plans sometimes change.

“But when you do the plans and they work out in the race, it’s perfect, perfect. In the final we arrive with the victory, it’s incredible.”

Friday’s 13th stage is another mainly flat leg that features two lower-classified climbs toward the end. It is a huge target for Italian rider Filippo Ganna, who dominated Tuesday’s time trial, as the 189-kilometer (117-mile) route from Alessandria ends in his hometown of Verbania.

The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.

The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

Belgium's Alec Segaert of Bahrain Victorious celebrates winning the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Imperia to Novi Ligure, Italy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Imperia to Novi Ligure, Italy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Portugal's Afonso Oliveira Eulalio of Bahrain Victorious, front, during the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Imperia to Novi Ligure, Italy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Belgium's Alec Segaert of Bahrain Victorious crosses the finish line to win the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Imperia to Novi Ligure, Italy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Belgium's Alec Segaert of Bahrain Victorious crosses the finish line to win the 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Imperia to Novi Ligure, Italy, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

“The building is beautiful,” the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the arch's height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). Critics of the project argue that the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Commissioners were told at Thursday's meeting that Trump considered the suggestion to remove the statue “but elected not to pursue such an option.”

McCrery recommended doing away with the lions on the base and objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle. Both design elements have been removed.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The Republican president and his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum's department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

The president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

Trump's rehab of the Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for later Thursday in federal court in Washington.

Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)