Good news sports fans! Osgoode, Ont.’s Derek Gee-West will finally be back in action. On Wednesday, his new team Lidl – Trek announced the plan for his big goal of the season, the Giro d’Italia. Earlier this month the rumours of his joining the German squad were finally made official.

After months of Internet chatter, Lidl – Trek announced the news on Instagram, saying, “One last announcement to make our 2026 roster complete… welcome on board, Derek Gee-West.” The video also debuted his new national championship jersey for the year. Gee-West will ride for at least the next two years.

On Dec. 13, journalist Daniel Benson reported the deal was “all but done.” Gee-West was first linked to INEOS Grenadiers. But after Oscar Onley signed with the British team, Lidl–Trek quickly emerged as the frontrunner. La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Ciro Scognamiglio later suggested confirmation was imminent.

Rumours intensified when some claimed the Canadian had already joined the team’s training camp, though no photos surfaced. Other small clues piled up. A CCM staffer noticed that Gee-West switched from a Garmin 840 to a Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3 in mid-December — the same computer used by Lidl–Trek riders.

A complicated exit

Gee-West, 27, left Israel–Premier Tech in August despite being under contract through 2028. After a breakout 2023 season — second in four Giro d’Italia stages and 22nd overall — he committed to becoming a GC rider. He backed that up with a Dauphiné stage win and podium in 2024. And of course, ninth overall at the Tour de France. The fourth at the 2025 Giro, confirmed Gee-West was a Grand Tour contender.

Dear Lidl-Trek, please redo Derek Gee-West’s jersey

He later cited safety concerns linked to the Israel–Hamas war, including protests at the Vuelta a España, saying they created unsafe conditions. IPT disputed his exit and reportedly filed a UCI case seeking 30 million Euro.

Gee-West now joins fellow Ontarians Isabella and Ava Holmgren at Lidl–Trek. Meanwhile, NSN Cycling confirmed his contract with the team formerly known as Israel–Premier Tech has officially ended.

Someone designed a way better version of Derek Gee-West’s champs jersey

He was forced to skip essentially the latter half of 2025. That included the Tour du Pologne, the Vuelta a España, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Montréal et de Québec, and the road worlds in Kigali.

In 2026, he opens his season at the Volta ao Algarve on Feb. 18, followed by Volta a Catalunya in March. After a key tune-up at the Tour of the Alps in April, his early campaign builds toward a Giro d’Italia start on May 9.

In other good news for us Canucks, sounds like DGW is getting a new jersey. After a whole bunch of negative comments, plus some hot thinkpieces from your pals at Canadian Cycling Magazine, Lidl – Trek confirmed on the post that something new is coming. (Of course if you’re a CCM fan, you would have read the news from Gee-West himself in an interview from last week.)