Updated January 14, 2026 01:40PM
Derek Gee feels like a pro cyclist again after enduring one of cycling’s most contentious contract disputes with his former team Israel-Premier Tech.
The budding Canadian GC star abruptly left the team — then backed by Israel-Canadian tycoon Sylvan Adams — late last summer, and the drama played out in a war of press releases and legal dealings that put his racing future in doubt.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Gee wanted to focus on his future with Lidl-Trek and not dwell on cycling’s messiest divorce that was contested behind closed doors over the past several months.
“I’m not going to exaggerate and say it was fine. It was a very tough period,” Gee said Wednesday. “It’s not something that’s stuck with me. It hasn’t lingered, and honestly, I feel fresh, motivated, and ready to get back to the peloton.”
If that sounds like a fresh start, it is.
When he went public that he wanted out, Adams countered with a lawsuit asking for $30 million in damages, an unprecedented sum in cycling history.
As the case hit the courts and the months ticked by, Gee trained alone, doing what he could to stay in shape, keep his weight down, and his spirits up.
The pressure was sometimes overbearing.
Without really knowing if or when his case would ultimately be resolved, Gee muddled through a legal no-man’s land for months with his racing future uncertain.
“I never thought I’d have to sit out a whole year. Definitely, I thought at some point it would be resolved, but I was not confident it would be before the end of the season,” Gee revealed.
“I am eternally grateful that it was, especially the timing of it. I don’t think I missed anything on the buildup to 2026.
Gee on split: ‘I want to leave it all in the past’
Gee, shown here at the Canadian races in 2024, is keen to get back to racing. (Photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
Gee spoke Wednesday for the first time to reporters following the high-profile split with Israel-Premier Tech and his equally headline-grabbing deal to join Lidl-Trek.
The 28-year-old is happy to put the whole business behind him.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better landing spot,” he said of his new squad. “The team’s been really great so far. I can’t wait to get back to racing.”
But before the racing starts, everyone wants to know what happened.
“I rode my bike — a lot,” Gee said without wanting to rehash the whole drama in the headlines again. “Hopefully it’s not too impactful, and we can step back into the season normally.”
Gee confirmed that his arbitration case before the UCI is now settled, a key ruling that cleared the way for him to join Lidl-Trek last week. Details of the settlement have not been publicly released.
“As a point of clarification, that’s all settled and done. There are no remnants from that left over,” Gee said Wednesday. “This team is incredibly ambitious, the support is there, and I couldn’t see any downside to joining Lidl-Trek.”
So what was behind one of cycling’s most acrimonious and public breakups? Gee isn’t giving too much away.
On Wednesday, he refused to expand on his reasons behind his departure, but insisted in earlier public statements that the split was not about money.
“There are a whole bunch of reasons that, but to be honest, I just want to leave that in the past,” he said when asked by Velo. “That’s not something I want to get into out of respect for all the parties involved, and it’s best just to leave it in the past.”
A record $30 million lawsuit
Derek Gee is relieved he’s done with the long-running contract dispute. (Photo: LUCA BETTINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Cycling’s seen some messy divorces before. Most are over money or leadership responsibilities.
None quite packed the mystery and intrigue as Gee’s dramatic decision to abruptly leave Israel-Premier Tech last summer.
His exit coincided with the worst of the horrific Israeli invasion of Gaza that left tens of thousands dead and leveled most of the infrastructure of the Palestinian territory. The Vuelta a España would later be engulfed by protesters and demonstrators pouring their anger and indignation toward Israel Premier Tech.
Those protests later led to cascading events that saw Adams extract himself from the day-to-day operations of the team and the departure of its co-title sponsor Premier Tech.
Coming into 2026, the squad has restructured with new partners taking over as NSN Pro Cycling Team.
The timing of Gee’s decision seemed to suggest that the 28-year-old was upset about the high-profile, pro-Israeli tilt of the team ownership, something that Gee has not directly commented on.
In an interview published Wednesday in El País, Spain’s leading daily, Gee was equally elusive but hinted there were other reasons behind his desire to change teams.
“I have my own beliefs, like anyone else, but it’s complicated,” Gee told El País. “There’s no good way to express your political opinion without being rejected. In the end, I didn’t want to use what was happening in the Gaza Strip as a scapegoat to get out of my contract. I didn’t think it was fair.”
Also speaking to El País, Gee expressed doubts about his racing future as lawyers on both sides took the case before the UCI’s arbitration panel.
“These past months have been incredibly stressful,” he told El País. “This case has been a constant headache, a process in which I’ve experienced some truly dark days. There were moments when I thought that retirement was a very real possibility, especially given the enormous amount of money.”
Ready for a restart at Lidl-Trek
Gee is looking forward to getting back to the races. (Photo: Ryan Bodge/Lidl-Trek/Special to Velo)
The backroom drama overshadowed his recent high-profile move to join Lidl-Trek, one of the most active teams on the rider marketplace coming into 2026.
After the arbitration case was settled, reportedly just after the new year, Gee was cleared to sign a contract with a new team. Gee pointed out that earlier reports that he was poised to join Ineos Grenadiers were pure fiction.
“That kind of came out of nowhere. There wasn’t really any substance to that,” Gee said Wednesday. “I was as shocked as anyone to read that.”
The multi-year deal puts the Canadian at the center of the team’s GC ambitions, and even with the arrival of Juan Ayuso, Gee said Lidl-Trek is the perfect place for him to take the next step in his career.
“The resources here and the expertise are immense,” he said of Lidl-Trek. “The goal, being on a team like this, is to shoot for the podium. I hope this team can help me take another step.”
Gee last raced in Europe at the 2025 Giro, when he finished fourth overall after clawing back from a rough start that saw him lose big chunks of time in the first few stages. He won the Canadian road title in June and hasn’t competed since.
That’s a long time away from the rhythm and flow of the bunch, but Gee’s not worried. He compared his absence to breaking a collarbone, more like a temporary setback than something that’s going to require a major reboot.
Gee says he’s ready to pile back into the peloton and wants to push the accelerator on his racing career.
With all the mess behind him, Gee faces new challenges with the support of a world-class team to see how far he can go in the grand tours.
“I went pro by today’s standards very late, at 25, and so I’ve done three seasons. I only started riding GC at the Dauphiné in 2024, so I think there’s still a ton to go,” he said. “It’s just one step at a time, keep trying to improve, trying to reach that next level. My goal is to reach the podium for now and just try to chip away bit by bit.”
All roads lead toward a return to the Giro d’Italia, with the Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Catalunya, and the Tour of the Alps all lined up.
After what he’s been through, the pain of racing might come as a relief.