{"id":410903,"date":"2026-01-15T12:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/410903\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T12:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:38:13","slug":"derek-gee-west-opens-up-about-his-future-at-lidl-trek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/410903\/","title":{"rendered":"Derek Gee-West opens up about his future at Lidl-Trek"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday, as I spoke with Derek Gee-West, we had a very fitting interruption. Some birds flew into the room he was in during our video call. The birder<\/a> quickly identified them as house sparrows.<\/p>\n

Gee-West is in D\u00e9nia, Spain, with Lidl-Trek\u2019s January camp. Since he\u2019s a late addition to the squad, he\u2019s getting set up on his bikes, which has included aero testing on his time trial bike on a velodrome. The team is generally focused on training in preparation for the season ahead. (For a few, racing starts in less than a week at the Tour Down Under.)<\/p>\n

The rider from Osgoode, Ont., seemed relaxed as he sported a Lidl-Trek branded hoodie. Our talk ranged from the challenges of the second half of 2025 as he couldn\u2019t race because of a contact dispute with his former team, the hurried process of getting up to speed with this new team and his national champions jersey, which has caused a bit of a kerfuffle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This interview has been condensed for clarity.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 6, the announcement came out that you joined Lidl-Trek. Why was that the right day for the announcement?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just a whole bunch of paperwork. Usually this is done far in advance, but I joined the team really late. Then there were the holidays. It just takes some time.<\/p>\n

Can you tell me anything about how you came in contact with the team and how the wheels were set in motion for this new position at Lidl-Trek?<\/p>\n

A lot of it is obviously behind the scenes stuff with my agents. I didn\u2019t initiate contact, but it was super late. It was into December. The timing was honestly right up to where I think it might have affected my 2026 season. So I\u2019m really glad it got done when it did because I really feel like I didn\u2019t miss anything in the prep. I think it worked out about as well as it could have in the end.<\/p>\n

The big story, of course, for 2025 was the contract dispute between you and your former team Israel-Premier Tech, now NSN Cycling. I\u2019ve asked you questions about that, and there\u2019s just a lot of it that you can\u2019t discuss<\/a>. But during that uncertain time for you, how did you feel?<\/p>\n

There definitely were ups and downs. It was a very, very stressful time. It obviously went on for quite a while. I was able to continue, you know, to keep my head down, train and prepare for 2026.<\/p>\n

But now that I\u2019m in a new environment, a new team and I\u2019m preparing for the season, the stress has left. It\u2019s something in the past. Honestly, I feel really, really good. I feel motivated and ready for the new season.<\/p>\n

\"Derek<\/a>Derek Gee-West. Quebec City, 2024. Photo: Nick Iwanyshyn<\/p>\n

Was there ever a moment where you thought maybe your career was over?<\/p>\n

For sure. That\u2019s the worst-case scenario. It\u2019s difficult to not think about worst-case scenarios, but I didn\u2019t entertain that as super realistic. Now, I\u2019m just looking forward to getting back into the peloton.<\/p>\n

What was your training like during those\u2014let\u2019s call them uncertain months for the latter half of 2025?<\/p>\n

I was doing my own coaching. I think, timing-wise, it worked out quite well. It was early prep for the next season, which is probably the easiest training to write for yourself.<\/p>\n

You ride your bike a lot; you do some longer efforts and things like that. I obviously wouldn\u2019t trust myself to write a training program for race prep or anything like that. But to be honest, the timing was great. I just had to ride my bike a lot, which is what I wanted to do anyway.<\/p>\n

Now tell me about your arrival at the December team camp. What was the first thing that struck you about Lidl-Trek?<\/p>\n

The size of the organization. There\u2019s the men\u2019s team, women\u2019s team, devo team and all the staff. And, I was struck by how smoothly it ran, despite that. I showed up and there was an entire hotel of just Lidl-Trek.<\/p>\n

Stepping into a December camp as your first introduction is always going to be overwhelming, even with a smaller team. But this was\u2014a lot of learning names.<\/p>\n

Were there name tags?<\/p>\n

I wish.<\/p>\n

At the December camp, did you receive all the new gear for the year?<\/p>\n

No, no, because of the late signing. To be honest, when I showed up, just the fact that they had some kit for me was was pretty cool. But I\u2019ve gotten a lot of it here in the January camp.<\/p>\n

Is there anything new with your time trial setup? Are you trying anything different? Or are you trying to replicate what you\u2019ve been doing before?<\/p>\n

Replication as the first step with just the position I\u2019m comfortable with. Then there\u2019s trying different helmets, different bar extensions\u2014all sorts of the little things. Then it\u2019s just the necessary aero testing\u2014the standard start of the year\u2014trying to optimize the position as best as possible.<\/p>\n

\"Alternative<\/a>An alternative national champion kit for Derek Gee-West by Montreal designer Anthony Debauche. Image: Courtesy Anthony Debauche<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about kit. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve seen the stories on our website, but web editor Matt Hansen, my colleague, has been quite critical of the national champion jersey that Lidl-Trek has created for you. Have you noticed the chatter about the jersey?<\/p>\n

Oh, I\u2019m seeing it. I\u2019ve seen the uproar from Canadian fans. I\u2019ve received designs that are around online<\/a> and all this. The jersey was kind of just a rush. The truth of it is that it\u2019s difficult to work around the sponsors. The Canadian jersey is not block colours. It\u2019s the Maple Leaf. And you don\u2019t want a sponsor in the middle of the Maple Leaf. But I have good news: there is a new jersey coming.<\/p>\n

Have you worked with descending coach Oscar Saiz yet?<\/p>\n

Actually, I have. Before he was hired by Trek, I worked with him about three years ago when he did a camp with Israel-Premier Tech. I know Mike Woods has done a ton of work with him. He\u2019s really the gold standard of technical work. I know a ton of pros have taken advantage of that in the past. So it\u2019s actually really cool to be on the team that he works for.<\/p>\n

Is there any technique or skill or physical ability that you\u2019re trying to bolster?<\/p>\n

I think as a GC rider, I don\u2019t have any glaring flaws but also no glaring things that make me good. It\u2019s not like, oh, I\u2019m the best climber and I can\u2019t ride a TT bike or something like this. I think that\u2019s a really nice place to be in because then I can chip away everywhere. I have room for improvement across basically all disciplines of GC riding. It\u2019s definitely just a work in progress. We\u2019ll see where it goes month by month, year by year.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve raced against many of these riders and probably developed impressions of them from within these races. Have any of these impressions changed as you now see these riders as teammates?<\/p>\n

No, I mean, honestly, all of the first impressions were great. The only one I raced against pretty consistently was Giulio Ciccone. I kind of went back and forth with him in GCs since mid-2024 when I started racing them. I always respect the way he races. He\u2019s a very different rider than me: much, much punchier, much more explosive. So actually, it\u2019s really cool to get to be teammates with someone who I\u2019ve gone back and forth with for probably four or five stage races. I can\u2019t wait to race with him and not have to worry about him.<\/p>\n

Maybe have that punchiness complement your riding instead of work against your riding.<\/p>\n

Exactly.<\/p>\n

Has there been any welcome activities, initiation things or even pranks pulled on you?<\/p>\n

I missed the off-the-bike team camp in Germany at the end of the 2025 season. But I guess as rookie hazing goes, I did have to ride around to D\u00e9nia for a little bit at the end of last camp with a getup on.<\/p>\n

Was it the Lidl Christmas sweater?<\/p>\n

No. I had a whole bunch of accessories attached to my bike, which, yeah, made for quite a spectacle for the hundreds of cyclists in this area to watch as I rode by. I had some streamers and whatnot. Just enough for me to look a little bit odd riding around.<\/p>\n

For your season ahead, how much have you and the team planned your race schedule?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all fully planned out until the end of the Giro d\u2019Italia. I\u2019ll start in Volta ao Algarve, and then I\u2019ll do Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Tour of the Alps and then the Giro. Obviously, this is always tentative. It\u2019s bike racing. You never know. You get sick and miss a race. Then you have to add another one. When you\u2019re stage racing and only have four races, each one is pretty crucial. That\u2019s the plan for now. And then after that, up in the air\u2014that\u2019s for thinking about after the first big goal of the season.<\/p>\n

And at the Giro, will you be the GC rider for the team?<\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019ll be the GC guy at the Giro. But it\u2019s split with other ambitions. There\u2019s sprints and stage hunting and all this. I\u2019m actually excited to be a part of a team that has such a wide scope to find success at these races.<\/p>\n

Do you think you\u2019ll be able to defend the national title this year?<\/p>\n

I would love to go back for nationals. There\u2019s a much more diverse group of teams in the men\u2019s race than there has been in the past. But it depends who of the other Canadians does the Tour de France versus comes home for nationals. But it should make for actually some really, really exciting racing, I hope.<\/p>\n

\"Derek<\/a>Osgoode, Ont.\u2019s Derek Gee-West of Israel\u2013Premier Tech collects himself shortly after finishing the 2023 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montr\u00e9al. Image: Nick Iwanyshyn<\/p>\n

Have you broached the idea of coming back here for the Grand Prix races in Quebec City and Montreal?<\/p>\n

I actually don\u2019t know about those races. I would love to go. But either way, I\u2019m fine with it because I\u2019ll be there for worlds. And worlds is going to be something special, I think. I\u2019m really, really excited for a home worlds, especially with a Canadian world champion on the women\u2019s side. Montreal is only two hours from where I grew up. I think it\u2019s going to be a really, really special event.<\/p>\n

World champion Magdeleine Valli\u00e8res Mill goes in-depth on her life-changing win<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Yes, I think we\u2019re all pretty excited for that. This season, do you know if you will be riding in service for other riders, possibly after the Giro?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not something that we\u2019ve discussed. I\u2019m always willing to. I think that\u2019s also a really cool part about this team is that you have guys whose ceiling is at the top of the sport. So that\u2019s something that is also really appealing to me to get to race with those guys. That\u2019s definitely something that over the next three years, I\u2019m definitely keen to be a part of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Tuesday, as I spoke with Derek Gee-West, we had a very fitting interruption. Some birds flew into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,162059,10873,82,11588,71835],"class_list":["post-410903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-derek-gee-west","tag-lidl-trek","tag-sports","tag-spotlight","tag-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}