<\/p>\n
Results followed that relentless approach. Gee finished runner-up on four separate stages, in Fossombrone, Viareggio, Cassano Magnago and on the iconic slopes of Tre Cime di Lavaredo. He also added two fourth-place finishes in Crans-Montana and Palafavera, underlining his versatility across very different profiles.<\/p>\n
Beyond the stages, he ended the race second in both the points classification and the mountains competition, narrowly missing out on the Maglia Verde and Maglia Azzurra.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Giro has always been my favorite Grand Tour, ever since I watched it as a kid,\u201d Gee said at the Giro d’Italia<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has a special place in my heart, and it\u2019s the only three-week race ever won by a Canadian (Hesjedal in 2012). It\u2019s also the race where I really made a name for myself and the first where I was able to fight for a top overall result.\u201d<\/p>\n That breakout performance marked the start of a steady rise. Since then, Gee has developed from breakaway specialist into a genuine contender for the general classification. He claimed a top ten overall at the Tour de France before taking another major step forward with fourth place at the 2025 Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n Even so, the Canadian, now riding for Lidl-Trek<\/a>, still looks back fondly on the freedom of his first appearance.<\/p>\n \u201cStill, I don\u2019t think any Grand Tour will ever match 2023 for me in terms of enjoyment. We didn\u2019t have sprinters or GC riders, zero expectations, zero pressure, and total freedom to race.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cI attacked almost every day, it was incredible, a situation that will be hard to replicate in my career. Now the focus has shifted to the general classification: you enjoy it a bit less, but if things go well, the rewards are huge\u201d.<\/p>\n His ambitions are now firmly centred on fighting for the overall standings. Last season\u2019s fourth place, only 1:40 away from the podium occupied by Richard Carapaz, confirmed he can compete with the elite over three weeks. In 2026, Gee will return to the Giro d\u2019Italia for a third appearance, this time with even bigger expectations.<\/p>\n The build-up has not been completely smooth. After an encouraging UAE Tour<\/a>, where he finished seventh despite a lengthy absence from racing caused by physical setbacks the previous year, Gee was later forced to abandon the Volta a Catalunya<\/a>. Even so, the expectation is that he will complete his preparation, likely through the Tour of the Alps, and arrive at the start in strong condition.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year I had a really strong build-up to the Giro, so the idea was to try and replicate it, maybe improving in the areas where it was needed,\u201d Gee explained. \u201cHopefully the results will prove me right\u201d.<\/p>\n The question now is whether repeating last year\u2019s result would be enough.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019d be happy to match that result,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, when you finish 4th and you\u2019re close to the podium, you always hope to take that next step and reach third place. But the race changes, the rivals change, and you never know what can happen.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, it\u2019s hard to say what I\u2019ll really be capable of, but I wouldn\u2019t be disappointed with another fourth place. The dream? Definitely to get on the podium, that\u2019s what I\u2019m working for. There are so many variables that it\u2019s impossible to say if I can achieve it, but I\u2019ll give it everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Results followed that relentless approach. Gee finished runner-up on four separate stages, in Fossombrone, Viareggio, Cassano Magnago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,59441,163619,49602,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-614632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-derek-gee","12":"tag-giro-ditalia","13":"tag-lidl-trek","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}