“The hip is pretty bad... I just hit really hard” - Derek Gee down but not out at the Giro d’Italia as Canadian continues despite crash injuries

Derek Gee will continue at the Giro d’Italia despite being left bruised and battered by the mass crash that tore through Stage 2, with the Canadian admitting he was fortunate compared to some of the riders caught in the same incident.

The Lidl-Trek GC hopeful was among those to hit the deck on wet roads before the final climb to Veliko Tarnovo, where the crash forced a temporary neutralisation and left several teams counting the cost.

Gee eventually reached the finish 1:06 down on stage winner and new Maglia Rosa Guillermo Thomas Silva, losing more than a minute to several of his overall rivals.

Speaking to Cycling Pro Net before Stage 3, Gee gave a clear update on his condition after a brutal afternoon in Bulgaria. “Beaten up, but not so bad,” he said. “Not so bad considering how some of the guys ended up. Pretty lucky.”

Gee was visibly carrying the effects of the crash before the start of Stage 3, though he said the damage was mainly bruising rather than heavy road rash. “It’s a little bit everywhere,” he explained. “The hip is pretty bad, a little bit on the back, but in the end I just hit really hard actually. I didn’t come away with too much road rash or anything, just bruising.”

The crash came at a pivotal moment of Stage 2, shortly after the breakaway had been caught and before the peloton reached the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass. Several riders went down on the slippery roads, with UAE Team Emirates - XRG particularly badly hit and Santiago Buitrago also forced to abandon.

Gee described the incident from inside the bunch. “I saw guys in front of me hitting the deck and then I hit the deck,” he said. “Then I saw a lot of guys on the ground. It’s never nice to see. Obviously I haven’t heard how everyone’s doing, but it was a pretty nasty one.”

For Gee, the sporting damage was not as severe as the physical impact could have been. He lost more than a minute, but the Canadian suggested that should not completely reshape his Giro.

“I don’t think a whole lot,” he said when asked what the crash changed for his race. “A minute at the start is something I’m used to now, losing a minute right out the gate. Obviously not the nicest way to do it, but my legs felt okay. I think at the end of the race, hopefully a minute doesn’t decide a spot one way or the other.”

Stage 3 from Plovdiv to Sofia should offer Gee a chance to get through the day before the first rest day, rather than immediately forcing him back into a decisive GC battle.

“For sure,” he said when asked whether the timing gives him a chance to recover. “It’s not terrible timing, with hopefully not a decisive stage today. It should be a sprint, and then a rest day at least gives a little bit of time to come around.”

Gee’s Giro has already taken an early hit, but it is not over. After the chaos of Stage 2, simply reaching the start line in condition to keep fighting is a result in itself.