"Tomorrow, we'll get the first real answers" - Derek Gee anticipates great battle after rest day

Just like Simon Yates slid under the radar onto the podium, Derek Gee has silently worked his way towards his current fifth place. And on Monte Grappa, the Israel - Premier Tech leader sticked his nose into the wind for the first time when he followed the attack of Egan Bernal. He may have not gained much with this move with regards to GC, but as a confidence boost ahead of hard third week - this was a perfect launch pad.

"I'm pleased with how my legs have felt so far," Gee said in a press release. With the same breath, he points out that main meal is yet to come: "They're still a bit untested on the terrain we're heading to; it's going to be a very different style of racing than what we've had, but I can take a lot of confidence from the past week."

But at the end of the second week, Gee was visibly in an ease riding uphill. "I felt excellent. I felt I could respond on the climbs when I needed to. It was good to have guys around me all the time, guys who dropped back from the breakaway, like Marco (Frigo, ed.). I was never isolated; it was a great day."

So far, it was mostly just playing a crash roulette among the candidates for overall victory, but the character of race will swiftly change in the week 3. "100%. It will be different on the very long climbs, where it will be less tactical and come down to pure leg power."

Gee was among the victims of gravel chaos at the end of first week but is already back into top-5 with podium in sight. On the other hand he's not the only one with eyes on the prize: "I think there are two sides to it. Of course, I want to let my legs do the talking and show how I compare to the other guys, but at the same time, I know that there are probably guys behind me in the GC who, just like me, want to move up in the third week."

The final week takes off with a massive stage in Trento that includes three first category climbs and nearly 5000 altitude meters. "Especially when there's a rest day before, there's always a bit of uncertainty about how the body will react, but it will be great to answer the questions about who's where. Tomorrow, we'll get the first real answers."

The monster stages ahead a part of why Gee remains modest about where he'd like to be seated in the final standings this Sunday. "If the altitude meters were spread out a bit more over the weeks, and I was fifth after a few difficult uphill finishes, then I could say more about my goals. But at the moment, the guys in front of me could lose ground, but those behind me could also move up. It's far too early to say where I'll finish and what I'll be happy with."