Derek Gee 🇨🇦
Boy have we been excited about the day we can write about a Canadian. No disrespect to Michael Woods but he's been semi-retired except his Mur de Huy attempts every year. Gee, on the other hand, over the past few days has become a standout star at the Giro d'Italia with two almost back to back second place stage performances.
The performances came after kilometres upon kilometres on riding in small breaks; sometimes horrific weather. But I guess Canadians are used to horrific weather. A self proclaimed birder, Gee enjoys the finer things in life clearly.
Gee had a breakout performance in the 2023 Paris Roubaix - riding in the break until the Trouée d'Arenberg where despite his front wheel blowing to shreds he managed to stay upright.
Given that, and a little bit of analysis on our part, we bit at the right time. Twice. We had him to win at 601.00 on and each way in stage eight, and also at 251.00 to win on stage ten. Both time Gee came through with a second place.
We've debated to pay Gee a tithe at this point. But the odds have gotten much shorter on Gee as of late, as the betting houses algorithms have smartened up.
Strengths
Gee hails from Ottawa, Canada with a background in track cycling, and it's evident he has a decent sprint on him after watching the Giro finishes. Gee might not have been able to clutch the top slot in the stage ten sprint, but he has a decent shout, and just timed it a little wrong.
Not only that but the breaks he's gone into have ridden for long stretches of time on their lonesome. 150+ kilometres with only three or four riders in the sleet and rain. If that's not endurance we don't know what is.
Gee also has a strong time trialing background coming from the track (and being young = better CdA 🙃). We believe Gee is only been missing out performing remarkably in time trials due to Israel Premier - Tech's (IPT) poor bike setup.
Team
Israel Premier - Tech, which seems to attempt to snap up any potential Canadian talent, will have their hands full trying to maintain Gee. While Gee is signed onto the roster until 2025 we expect one of the bigger named teams to drop some cash for him. Given IPTs non World Tour status we're unsure they'll be able to maintain such a potential talent.
When To Bet
While the odds on Gee are incredibly short right now, don't forget about him for breakaways in next year's spring classics. We expect the experience of the last few days to boost his knowledge of when to start to sprint.
If his team changes, his individual time trial (ITT) rankings should also improve. Gee is young and with a track background is probably being hamstrung by IPTs poor TT setup. Gee finished first in 2022 at the Canadian ITT Championships, and 19th at the World Championships ITT for pete's sake. With that being said, on a new team, and Gee's endurance, we see know reason why a GC oppurtunity at a week long tour couldn't be in the cards.
