No one was faster in week two than Derek Gee, who is eager to shine in week three: "It'll come down to pure leg power"

Gee is more than satisfied with how his Giro has gone, especially his almost perfect second week. "I'm pleased with how my legs have felt so far,” he said in a press release. “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."

The fifteenth stage to Asiago was another test for the GC contenders, and the 27-year-old Canadian was able to show his offensive racing style for the first time. He attacked on the Monte Grappa and closed the gap to Del Toro, Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman, and others. "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."

But Gee also knows that the real mountain stages are yet to come. The third week will be extremely tough, and the uphill finishes will make a big difference. "100%. It will be different on the very long climbs, where it will be less tactical and come down to pure leg power, but on the short previews, I'm pleased with how my body responded."

Fifth place in the GC still leaves a lot of possibilities open, but the inexperienced GC contender remains cautious. "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. That's going to be very interesting in any case."

Tuesday will start with a monster stage: the stage to San Valentino has a mountain finish and 4,700 meters of climbing. It will be one hell of a test. "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."

After week 1, Gee had to regroup. He lost time in the gravel stage, but the first stage was also a bad day. Now, he is in excellent shape, both physically and mentally. "Mentally, knowing that the legs are there is very important. It was tough to start the race and be behind right away. It's nice to see that the legs are better, and mentally, it's a much better place to be, especially compared to the start of the second week."

The classification is becoming clearer, but the Israel-Premier Tech team leader does not want to say anything about his goals, especially with the upcoming stages. "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."