Derek Gee ready for Giro podium battle as Maglia rosa battle heats up: “Anything’s possible”

As the 2025 Giro d’Italia enters its decisive mountain double-header, Derek Gee is approaching the next two stages with equal parts optimism and apprehension. The Canadian has been one of the most consistent performers of the race so far, climbing into contention for a top-five finish, and now faces the biggest test yet of his Grand Tour credentials.

“Today will definitely be an interesting stage,” Gee said to Cycling Pro Net ahead of Stage 19. “Tomorrow the climb is so hard that I think if teams want to do something, today is the last day to do it… once you hit Finestre then it’s just man against man.”

It’s a fair assessment. Saturday’s Stage 20 is built around the legendary Colle delle Finestre, a 20-kilometre monster with gravel roads, relentless gradients, and a reputation for turning GC standings upside down (just ask Simon Yates). But for now, Gee is focused on the task at hand: surviving what he suspects could be a tactical and unpredictable penultimate mountain stage.

Though he's only in his second Giro, the Canadian has already become known for his superb endurance, and finished in the top ten at last year’s Tour de France. Asked how well he knows the climbs, Gee was refreshingly honest. “Not at all,” he admitted, before adding, “Of course, I’ve done my research, watched videos of it, seen it on Veloviewer, but I’ve never done them.”

There’s vulnerability in that admission, but also a silver lining. “There’s positives and negatives,” he said. “The negatives obviously, you don’t know the climb as well. The positives, you don’t know the climb as well, so I don’t have to think about how much it’s going to hurt.”

It’s this light-hearted outlook that has endeared Gee to fans, ever since his heroics at the 2023 Giro, where he finished second on four stages and lit up the race throughout. This time around, he’s swapped near-misses for consistent GC riding, quietly climbing the standings and staying with some of the sport’s most exciting riders, like Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz.

As for how he studies the route? Gee is methodical. “I’m looking at where the steep gradients are, the layout of the climb, whether it flattens off or gets harder towards the finish,” he explained. “The descents especially, whether it’s key to be as high up in the field as possible, whether you have to make an effort over the top. All that kind of stuff. It adds up. It’s not usually the decisive factor, but it just adds up over a stage.”

What could complicate things even further is the heat, which the riders won’t be used too given the rain of the previous few days. With temperatures climbing in the valleys, some riders could wilt long before the road rises. “That obviously is just another unknown,” Gee said. “Hopefully it’s not too bad because we are going up a decent amount of mountains. The valleys will be scorching, but at least we won’t spend too much time in those.”

He’s also relieved to be leaving behind the terrain that gave him the most trouble. “I’m definitely looking forward to the longer climbs more,” he said. “Getting through the punchy stuff was a bit of a relief for me. Hopefully these last few days suit me a little better.”

Gee knows that nothing is guaranteed. The Giro has already produced plenty of shocks, with pre-race favourites Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso both having to abandon. Currently, Del Toro, Carapaz and Yates make up the podium, but can Gee get in the mix?

“It’s been insane since the start,” Gee said. “We’ve seen both good and bad all race. Anything’s possible.”