“Tadej Pogacar's going to be the overwhelming favourite” - Derek Gee under no illusions about hopes of victory on Canadian soil

On the 13th and 15th of September, Derek Gee will be back on home roads battling it out for a victory on Canadian soil at the GP Quebec and GP Montreal. Given the high quality field however, the 27-year-old is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task ahead.

Most notably, the presence of Tadej Pogacar stands out more than most on the start list. "Best rider in the world, it's gonna be a very hard race from very far out,” Gee admits in quotes collected by the Times Colonist ahead of the Canadian classics. “He's going to be the overwhelming favourite.”

Gee impressively finished third at the Critérium du Dauphiné back in June, before backing that up with a ninth placed finish at the Tour de France in July, further showing his potential general classification capabilities. Having only raced the Olympic Games in the time since however, the Israel - Premier Tech admits he's not sure how his legs will be in Quebec and Montreal.

“I don't know how my form will be in the second half of the year, but I'm really looking forward to finding out. The home crowds always give a big boost in performance,” Gee previews. With fellow Canadians, Michael Woods and Hugo Houle joining him on the Israel - Premier Tech team, there will no shortage of home crowd support either. "I remain focused after the Tour de France to try to keep a good form, and to give a good race at home,” Houle adds. “The last few years, I was not so good. So I wish … that I can be better.”