“The goal is entirely just process-based this week” - Derek Gee targets Giro progress at Tour of the Alps

Derek Gee arrived at the Volta a Catalunya hoping to measure his level against Jonas Vingegaard before the Giro d’Italia, but the Canadian’s plans were derailed before the race could properly begin.

The Lidl-Trek rider struggled through the opening days in Spain without initially understanding why his sensations were so poor. The explanation only became clear after he stepped off the bike and left the race after four stages, when illness fully surfaced.

“I felt quite bad in Catalunya, but the symptoms didn’t actually appear until I stopped the race,” he told Domestique in Innsbruck before stage 1 of the Tour of the Alps. “I was quite sick, but luckily the body’s come around since. In the end, I was only affected for maybe just under a week.”

Although the illness itself did not linger for long, Derek Gee admitted the bigger frustration came from the opportunities lost in Catalunya, particularly on decisive summit finishes such as La Molina and Queralt, stages that could have offered valuable insight ahead of May.

“It’s not so much the sickness as it is the missed race days,” Gee said. “Obviously you don’t get much out of a race like Catalunya if you’re not well. So that’s unfortunate, but I think the question how much it actually set me back will be pretty evident after this week.”

That question now shifts to the Tour of the Alps, a race that proved highly significant in Gee’s breakthrough 2025 campaign. Twelve months ago, a podium finish there acted as a springboard into the Giro d’Italia, where he went on to finish fourth overall after a consistently impressive three weeks from Albania to Rome.

While some Giro contenders, including Jonas Vingegaard, chose not to race again after Catalunya, the Canadian remains convinced of the value of another demanding stage race so close to the first Grand Tour of the season.

“I think it also gives a chance for the legs to improve over a week of racing,” he said. “I mean, you can do as much as you want in training, but there are certain elements of racing that just aren’t replicable, whether it’s being in the peloton or just having a full day of unpredictable racing. It’s just something that I really like to do going into a big target.”

For Gee, results this week are secondary. What matters most is progression, sensations, and leaving the race stronger than when he started.

“The goal is entirely just process-based this week,” he said. “I mean, hopefully I feel better on stage 5 than I do on stage 1. If that’s the case, then yeah, it’s trending in the right direction for the Giro.”

His steady start to life at Lidl-Trek suggests he is already regaining momentum after a turbulent second half of last season. Gee’s departure from the squad formerly known as Israel - Premier Tech kept him away from racing from last June until the end of the year, while his move to Lidl-Trek was only finalised in mid-December.

That timing meant he missed key winter planning meetings and most of the team’s first training camp, but his performances early this season showed little sign of disruption. He opened his campaign at the UAE Tour, finishing seventh overall on terrain not ideally suited to his strengths.

“I was definitely worried about the long lay-off from racing, but I think UAE was kind of the perfect race to transition back into the peloton, and it went well,” he said. “The races I did in Europe so far were affected by illness, so this feels sort of like my first race back in Europe, and hopefully we can get some good race days in.”

Beyond race fitness, the Tour of the Alps also offers another chance to settle deeper into his new environment at Lidl-Trek, where he has been recruited as one of the team’s Grand Tour leaders.

At his previous team, leadership came naturally after his breakout displays at the 2023 Giro d’Italia. At Lidl-Trek, the expectations were clear from the moment he signed, though he insists the internal balance of the squad eases any added pressure.

“It’s definitely different, but I think the pressure is balanced by having so many leaders on this team and so many different ambitions,” said Gee, who is set to share Giro leadership duties with sprinter Jonathan Milan.

“There’s obviously the sprint train and you have guys who are super competitive in the biggest one-day races, like you saw with Mattias Skjelmose yesterday in Amstel, so you don’t have everything behind you for this one specific goal, and that’s definitely a nice adjustment.”