The big but unknown question for the Giro d'Italia? A Canadian called Derek Gee-West

At Lidl-Trek, the plan for the Giro d'Italia is clear: full Italian flair, with Giulio Ciccone given three weeks of freedom to attack and Jonathan Milan lining up for the sprint stages. For the overall classification, sports director Gregory Rast has cautiously spoken of a top-five finish — but can Derek Gee-West actually deliver that?

Gee finished fourth in last year's Giro, then riding for Israel-Premier Tech under his pre-marriage name. That team, as we now know, no longer exists in its original form. Gee was without doubt the most prominent rider to walk away from that project, leaving him without a team for the best part of six months.

Lidl-Trek moved quickly. Now wearing the Canadian champion's jersey, Gee-West heads to the Giro in search of a repeat performance. The question is whether he can match his 2025 level after a turbulent six months and a mid-season transfer. "It was a strange year, but I came back to racing at the UAE Tour and my level was already pretty good there," he said at the Tour of the Alps.

In that same conversation with IDL Pro Cycling, Gee-West was candid about his concerns. Illness at the Tour of Catalonia disrupted his Giro build-up, and his twelfth place at the Tour of the Alps was a sign that he was not yet at his best. "I'm not worried, and my first months here have been really good. There's so much experience in this team — the level is very high."

That Gee-West starts the Giro as team leader despite a compromised build-up says a great deal about Lidl-Trek's belief in the 28-year-old Canadian. He was barely known to most people in 2022, until one Giro in 2023 changed everything. The then-emerging Gee stole the show with seven breakaway attempts, four of which ended with a second place on the day.

"No Grand Tour will ever top the 2023 edition for pure enjoyment," Gee-West told the Giro's official channels earlier this year. "That year we had no sprinter and no GC man, so there were zero expectations, zero pressure. I had total freedom to attack almost every day. It was incredible — a situation I don't expect to find myself in again."

Because in 2024 he more or less accidentally finished third at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and then very casually placed ninth on his Tour de France debut. A GC rider was born, the scale of his engine suddenly plain to see. "I focus on the classification now, so you enjoy it slightly less. But when it works, the reward is enormous," he described his current role with refreshing honesty.

At Lidl-Trek — which Gee-West has described as "a huge organisation" — the time has come to deliver, again at his favourite Grand Tour. His ideal build-up could not be replicated after the physical setbacks, but is he ready nonetheless? "The dream is a podium place — that's what I'm working towards," he said ambitiously earlier this year.

Sports director Rast is aiming more modestly for a top five. "Derek has had a difficult start to the season. He began well with a top ten at the UAE Tour, but then he got seriously ill around the Tour of Catalonia. In the Tour of the Alps he showed some signs of life, which gives us optimism," said the 46-year-old Swiss.

The hope is that Gee-West will grow into the race. "Other riders might weaken during a Grand Tour, but we believe that with this build-up Derek can still fight for the top five. It's not all about the final week either — you can't lose ten minutes on Blockhaus — but we expect to see him getting stronger as the race goes on."

The dream Gee-West described in April remains intact: "I dream of a podium place."