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CBC
15 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Ottawa's Derek Gee cycles to Grand Tour-best 4th in Giro d'Italia
British rider Simon Yates cruised to overall victory in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, finally winning the race that had eluded him so often. After attacking on the gravel-road climb to take the pink jersey in the penultimate stage on Saturday, Yates finished nearly four minutes ahead of runner-up Isaac Del Toro, the 21-year-old Mexican who wore pink for 10 days before Yates took control. It's the second Grand Tour title for Yates after he won the Spanish Vuelta in 2018. Ottawa's Derek Gee, the lead rider for the Israel-Premier Tech team, was fourth overall to earn his best result at a Grand Tour. He was ninth in last year's Tour de France. Gee entered this year's competition after becoming an overall multi-race stage champion for the first time in his career. He captured the O Gran Camino road race in Spain on March 2 for the first overall stage race victory of his career, a 35-second edge over Italy's Davide Piganzoli. Gee finished with three top-10 stage results, including a first, second and 10th. At the seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico, he was fourth overall with two sixth-place results. The 27-year-old last led a race at the Criterium du Dauphine last June in France, spending one day in the yellow jersey coincided with an individual time trial. He finished third overall. At the Tour de France, Gee was ninth with four top-10 showings, including a third in Stage 9. He went on to finish 44th in last summer's Olympic road race in Paris and was the top Canadian in the individual time trial, placing 20th. Tough luck in previous Giro races Post-Olympics, Gee was 22nd in the individual time trial at the road world championships in Zurich. He did not finish the road race. Meanwhile, Yates wore pink for 13 days during the 2018 Giro before cracking on one of the final climbs. He also had to withdraw from the Italian race in 2020 and 2022 because of coronavirus and a knee injury, respectively. "I'm still in shock of what I've done," Yates said from Rome. "It's something that I've been working toward for a long time." Yates, who rides for Team Visma Lease a Bike, finished three minutes 56 seconds ahead of Del Toro and 4:43 ahead of Richard Carapaz, the 2019 champion from Ecuador. Gee, who was 11th in Sunday's final stage, was 6:23 behind Yates. Dutch rider Olav Kooij, Yates' teammate, won the final stage in a sprint finish. During the non-competitive neutralized period just before the mostly ceremonial final stage actually began, the peloton passed through the Vatican and was blessed by Pope Leo XIV. The 143-kilometre final stage concluded with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and finished next to the Circus Maximus. At age 32, Yates already acknowledged this victory is "the peak" of his career. His best finish in the Tour de France was fourth in 2023.
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Danish veteran Fuglsang to quit after Giro
"The last stage of the Giro on Sunday will be my last race for Israel Premier Tech," the Dane said in a video released by his team. "I've had a fantastic career that has given me much more than I ever dreamed of. But all good things come to an end and it's time for me to spend more time with my family and make way for the young riders." After beginning his professional career on mountain bikes, Fuglsang made a successful switch to the road. He won the Criterium in 2017 and 2019 when he also won his first Monument, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The following year he added the Tour of Lombardy. In recent years Fuglsang has played the role of road captain for riders such as Canadian Derek Gee, fourth overall in the Giro at the start of stage 19 on Friday. "When I extended my contract with the team, we agreed on a seven-month contract to support our general classification project with Derek Gee," he explained. "It's been a fantastic adventure, and I'm happy to finish at a level where I can still play a part and give something back to the team. While Fuglsang is closing his career with Israel Premier Tech, Fuglsang said he might make a final farewell by riding one last time in the Tour of Denmark, which he has won three times, in August.
CBC
6 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Canada's Derek Gee 4th to begin final week of Giro d'Italia cycling race
Mexican rider Isaac Del Toro just barely maintained his Giro d'Italia lead during the gruelling 16th stage Tuesday, when 2019 champion Richard Carapaz of Ecuador was the big mover in the overall standings. Ottawa's Derek Gee, riding for the Israel-Premier Tech team, has improved since Stage 12. He placed fifth on Tuesday to move to fourth in the overall standings in his second Giro d'Italia after a breakthrough 2023 performance when Gee was second four times and fourth twice. Gee entered this year's competition after becoming an overall multi-race stage champion for the first time in his career. He captured the O Gran Camino road race in Spain on March 2 for the first overall stage race victory of his career, a 35-second edge over Italy's Davide Piganzoli. Gee finished with three top-10 stage results, including a first, second and 10th. At the seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico, he was fourth overall with two sixth-place results. The 27-year-old last led a race at the Criterium du Dauphine last June in France, spending one day in the yellow jersey coincided with an individual time trial. He finished third overall. At the Tour de France, Gee was ninth with four top-10 showings, including a third in Stage 9. He went on to finish 44th in last summer's Olympic road race in Paris and was the top Canadian in the individual time trial, placing 20th. Post-Olympics, Gee was 22nd in the individual time trial at the road world championships in Zurich. He did not finish the road race. Meanwhile, when Carapaz, who also won gold at the 2021 Olympics, attacked on the finishing climb in the Dolomites, Del Toro had no response. 'I didn't have the best legs' Del Toro's lead was reduced to 26 seconds ahead of British rider Simon Yates and 31 seconds ahead of Carapaz. "In end I didn't have the best legs. They weren't bad but they weren't sufficient. I was happy to make it to the finish," Del Toro said Tuesday. "I hope it goes better the next few days." Del Toro, who was wearing pink for the seventh consecutive stage, lost nearly two minutes to Carapaz, who soloed to victory at the end of the 11th stage when Del Toro became the first Mexican leader in Giro history. It was a rough day for Del Toro's UAE Team Emirates squad, since Juan Ayuso, who was third overall, was dropped on the third of four climbs. Pre-race favourite Primoz Roglic, the 2023 champion, abandoned after crashing on a slippery road midway through the stage. He stood 10th overall after dropping five places on Sunday. Christian Scaroni became the first Italian rider to win a stage in this year's race after getting into an early breakaway. He crossed the line holding hands with another Italian, Astana teammate Lorenzo Fortunato, but was slightly ahead. The 203 km leg from Piazzola Sul Brenta to San Valentino was made more treacherous by rain early on. The finishing climb lasted 18.2 km and featured a section with a 12 per cent gradient in the finale. Italian rider Alessio Martinelli was hospitalized after sliding into a ravine. The VG Group Bardiani-CSF Faizane team said Martinelli was "conscious and in stable condition." He was carried up from the ravine on a stretcher attached to a rope by an alpine rescue team. Stage 17 on Wednesday is a 155 km leg from San Michele All'Adige to Bormio featuring three climbs, including the Mortirolo, one of the Giro's toughest and most famous climbs. The Giro ends in Rome on Sunday.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canadian rider Derek Gee to lead Israel-Premier Tech team at Giro d'Italia
Canadian rider Derek Gee, who turned heads with his breakthrough ride in the 2023 race, returns to the Giro d'Italia this week. This time, the 27-year-old from Ottawa looks to make his mark in the general classification for the Israel-Premier Tech team rather than hunt for stage wins in the first of the year's three Grand Tour races. The 2025 Giro opens Friday in Durres, Albania, and finishes 3,445 kilometres later on June 1 in Rome with five former champions in the field: Colombia's Nairo Quintana (2014), Ecuador's Richard Carapaz (2019), Colombia's Egan Bernal (2021), Australia's Jai Hindley (2022) and Slovenia's Primož Roglič (2023). Israel Premier-Tech hopes Gee can join that list. 'It's no secret that we are going to the Giro d'Italia to ride the (general classification) with Derek,' said Israel-Premier Tech sports director Sam Bewley. 'We believe that with his abilities and physical capacities, we can do a really good GC with him. 'Of course, we want to win stages at the Giro too, and we've got a number of guys capable of doing that. There should be plenty of opportunities for breakaways to succeed this year, and we've got some really good guys to be part of that … Overall, we've got a well-rounded group, with the main objective being the GC while also trying to pick up a few stage wins along the way.' Canadian Nick Zukowsky is also in the field, part of the Q36.5 team founded in 2023 by the owners of Italian cycling clothing brand Q36.5. The 26-year-old from Sainte-Lucie-des-Laurentides, Que., is riding in his first Grand Tour event. Gee made his Giro debut with a bang in 2023 when he placed second four times and fourth twice. Gee eventually finished 22nd in the final general classification standings and was runner-up to Italy's Jonathan Milan in the points race and France's Thibaut Pinot in the King of the Mountains standings. Gee was also honoured as the Giro's 'super combative rider.' Gee was slated to support Domenico Pozzovivo's GC campaign at the '23 Giro, but the veteran Italian's race was cut short by COVID. That opened the door for Gee to make his mark. 'The Giro definitely has a special place in my heart,' Gee said. 'This is where I had my first big results. The crowds were amazing, and I'm super-motivated for this whole race. To come back to the Giro is really special to me.' 'I don't want to put a specific number on what my expectations are for the general classification, I just want to continue building on what we've already achieved this season,' he added. 'Then, hopefully, in Rome, we can look back and have a good number on the board. I really just want to do the best race I can.' Gee will be supported by fellow Canadian Hugo Houle, New Zealand's Corbin Strong, Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang, Czechia's Jan Hirt, Italy's Marco Frigo and Australia's Nick Schultz, and Simon Clarke. 'All of these guys have a history of riding in support of leaders at Grand Tours or riding GC themselves, so we felt it was important to have them here,' said Bewley. 'They have been racing together a lot throughout the season already, really connecting as a group, and they have all prepared really well for this Giro. We are ready.' Gee followed his success at the '23 Giro by finishing ninth overall in last summer's Tour de France. Gee was promoted to Israel-Premier Tech's WorldTour squad from its academy in May 2022, signing a new long-term deal in June 2023 following his breakout performance at the Giro. Earlier this year, he won the five-stage O Gran Camino road race in Spain, finished fourth in the seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy and placed third in the five-stage Tour of the Alps in Austria and Italy. He finished third overall in the storied Criterium de Dauphine last June, winning one stage and finishing in the top 10 in four others. It marked his first WorldTour general classification podium. He had missed two months of racing earlier in the year after breaking his collarbone in a crash in Belgium. Gee was 44th in last summer's Olympic road race in Paris and was the top Canadian (20th) in the individual time trial. In September, Gee placed 22nd in the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich. He did not finish the road race. Gee is also an accomplished track cyclist, coming fifth in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, Canada's best Olympic result in the event since 1932. In 2019, he was part of the Canadian squad that finished fourth in the team pursuit at the UCI Track World Championships. Canadian-Israeli entrepreneur Sylvan Adams is one of Israel-Premier Tech's owners. Former Canadian star rider Steve Bauer is the team's sporting manager, while former Canadian rider Alex Cataford is sports director. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025
CBC
02-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canadian cyclist Derek Gee wins O Gran Camino race in Spain
Canadian cyclist Derek Gee won the O Gran Camino road race in Spain on Sunday, finishing with a 35-second edge over Italy's Davide Piganzoli. The 27-year-old from Ottawa, riding for the Israel-Premier Tech team, moved into the overall lead of the five-stage race Friday after winning the individual time trial. And he stretched the lead from five to 37 seconds after finishing runner-up in Saturday's stage. He was 24th in a large group in Sunday's final stage won by Denmark's Magnus Cort, who finished third overall. It's the first overall stage race victory of Gee's career. "It's pretty cool to win my first GC (general classification)," said Gee. "I love this race, I wanted to win it coming in — that was the goal — but winning races is not easy. I'm overjoyed." Israel-Premier Tech teammate Hugo Houle, from Sainte-Perpetue, Que., was 41st overall after finishing 69th Sunday. Gee credited Houle and his other teammates — Daniel Lima, Marco Frigo, Pau Marti, Simon Clarke and Jakob Fuglsang — for their help in securing the win. "I was pretty stressed going into it but I couldn't have asked for a better team. I mean, I was at the front all day," he said. "They won every fight into all the important sectors, they controlled the breakaway and there was almost no stress because they were so good today. These are class bike riders." Sunday's finale covered 165.3 kilometres, ending up in Santiago de Compostela after a difficult Category 3 climb with 20 kilometres to go followed by three challenging gravel sections. Gee last led a race at the Criterium du Dauphine last June in France, spending one day in the yellow jersey coincided with an individual time trial. Gee was promoted to Israel-Premier Tech's WorldTour squad from its academy in May 2022. He signed a new long-term deal in June 2023 following his breakout performance in his Grand Tour debut at the 2023 Giro d'Italia when he finished second four times and fourth twice. He eventually finished 22nd in the Giro's final general classification standings and was runner-up to Italy's Jonathan Milan in the points race and France's Thibaut Pinot in the King of the Mountains standings. Gee was also honoured as the Giro's "super combative rider." Gee followed that by finishing ninth overall in last summer's Tour de France. The Canadian is slated to lead the Israel-Premier Tech team at this year's Giro, which runs May 9 to June 1. Gee missed two months of racing last year after breaking his collarbone in a crash in Belgium. He finished 44th in last summer's Olympic road race in Paris and was the top Canadian in the individual time trial, placing 20th. In September, Gee was 22nd in the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich. He did not finish the road race. Gee is also an accomplished track cyclist, coming fifth in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Canada's best Olympic result in the event since 1932. In 2019, he was part of the Canadian squad that finished fourth in the team pursuit at the UCI Track World Championships.
