"He was right in front of me on the steep climb, but I just couldn’t close that last little bit" - Derek Gee second on an epic Tour of the Alps stage

Derek Gee counts among the winners of the penultimate stage of Tour of the Alps. When the live broadcast started, the peloton was already scattered across the mountains with the Canadian in center of the action. Ultimately, he wasn't able to repeat teammate Marco Frigo's success from day earlier, but a second place is more than honourable result.

"I’m really happy with how my legs are progressing throughout this race. It took me a few days to get into it, but I’m feeling better every day," Gee said after the finish line.

The wet and cold weather conditions, combined with several challenging climbs, made for an extremely hard day on the bike for the riders. With about 80 km to go, Thymen Arensman (INEOS) went solo, and shortly after, Gee took off as well in pursuit of the Dutchman.

"The weather was miserable all day, and the race exploded really early on with groups everywhere. Luckily, I managed to get up the road and give it a good shot. However, he [Arensman] was on a great day. I came close - only 25 seconds - and he was right in front of me on the steep climb, but I just couldn’t close that last little bit. Then my legs went out with about 10 km to go," Gee explained.

The 27-year-old Canadian managed to hold on to second place, which saw him jump to third overall, one minute ahead of his nearest podium rival. Tomorrow, the Tour of the Alps finishes with yet another hard day in the mountains.

"It’s going to be super hard, but if my legs keep going like this, I think tomorrow might be okay. But it’s really going to be in pieces," Gee said before heading into the Israel - Premier Tech team bus to start his recovery after an excruciating day in the saddle.