He finished ninth in the Tour de France. A few weeks earlier, he stood on the podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Derek Gee, the new star of Canadian cycling, will try to work his magic at the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal.
On September 13-15, Gee will line up at the start line in a strong peloton of 168 riders that will include, among others, the reigning Tour de France champion, Tadej Pogačar.
The Osgoode, Ontario native, however, will have no reason to feel intimidated.
Gee has continued to impress since his exploits at the Giro d’Italia in 2023. Earlier in June, he secured his first overall podium in a World Tour event with third place at the Critérium du Dauphiné. A month later, he took part in his sport’s most prestigious race, the Tour de France, for the first time. He finished in 9e rank, 27 min 21 s behind Pogačar.
So many feats that even he would not have hoped for. So much so, that he does not take any additional pressure from it for the rest of the season; only confidence.
“My results were unexpected not only by me, but by everyone,” the 27-year-old cyclist said during a live video conference from his Spanish residence on Wednesday. “Before I did it, no one said I had a chance of top 10 or podium.
“So I don’t feel a lot of pressure right now. I know the expectations are going to change next year when I’m going to do these same races, or similar races. There’s going to be more expectations and I’m going to have to adapt to that. […] But for now, I can only enjoy the Canadian races.”
Just days after the Tour de France, Gee competed in the Paris Olympics. That was a lot of big competition in a short period of time. Fatigue probably had a lot to do with his 44e place.
“I was home for just one night before going to Paris for the Games,” he said. “I could definitely feel the fatigue. It was a brutal race.” […] I hoped my legs would keep their shape [du Tour]but that wasn’t really the case. I’ve managed to recover pretty well since then.”
“Different from last year”
The Israel-Premier Tech cyclist should therefore be in good shape for his second participation in the Grands Prix cyclistes de Québec and Montréal. He will take part with Quebecers Hugo Houle and Guillaume Boivin, as well as Ontario’s Michael Leonard.
Last year, Gee said he was there to “gain experience above all.” This time, he sees things differently, although he is careful not to say too much.
“I think it’s different from last year, with Tadej being there. He’s obviously the best cyclist in the world. It’s going to be a very tough race. At the same time, I have higher expectations of myself than last year. I think my level is much higher.”
“I don’t know what my form will be like in this second half of the season, but I’m looking forward to finding out. I think the presence of the crowd will give me a big boost boost. »
He will also have the advantage of knowing the circuits, which was not the case last year, even though he watched the Montreal race many times in person or on television in his adolescence.
“It’s completely different to be a part of it. The biggest thing I took away was how demanding they are. When you watch them on TV, it says: two laps to go. You think: that’s two laps. But it’s so hard! It wears you out lap after lap.”
“Last year I was wasting energy everywhere. Mike [Michael Woods] told me afterwards that I could save so much energy just by knowing the race, by knowing what the key moments are.”
He also points out that the Montreal race, which consists of a “longer effort”, suits his style much better than that of Quebec, “a steep wall that never ends”.
A “dream” plateau
With the Olympic Games being held at the end of July, the organizers of the Grands Prix Cyclistes Québécois were worried about having a slightly less competitive lineup this year. Especially since the European Road Championships are taking place the same weekend. In the end, it will be quite the opposite.
The winners of the first four stages of the Tour de France, the Eritrean Biniam Girmay, the French Kévin Vauquelin and Romain Bardet and the Slovenian Pogačar will compete in particular under the gaze of the 200,000 supporters present annually.
“We are surprised, but at the same time not. Surprised because the European Championships, a week before the World Championships, is also a privileged moment to prepare for the World Championships. Here it is the choice of the riders to decide to come here,” noted the general director of the Grands Prix, Joseph Limare.
“We know that since 2010, the teams and the riders have had a lot of fun coming here; the way we welcome them, the way we recognise their level of performance and preparation… They give it back to us because every year, we have extraordinary races.”
“A line-up like the one we have this year is just a dream.”