Three days after Israel-Premier Tech announced that their grand tour contender Derek Gee had attempted to cancel his contract with the team, the Canadian has broken his silence, claiming that “certain issues” had made his position at the squad “untenable”.
On Friday morning, Israel-Premier Tech revealed that they were “unexpectedly issued a notice of termination” from lawyers representing Derek Gee earlier this month, despite the 28-year-old having signed a five-year extension in 2023 tying him to the squad until the end of 2028.
Gee began his professional career with the UCI ProTeam in 2023, stepping up from its Israel Cycling Academy development squad.
Derek Gee and Alex Baudin, stage 19, 2023 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
After a breakthrough ride at the 2023 Giro d’Italia, where he finished second on four stages, he has since gone on to become one of the team’s most successful riders.
He won a stage at last year’s Critérium du Dauphiné before finishing ninth at his debut Tour de France later that summer, and taking a stage and the overall at O Gran Camiño in Spain earlier this year.
He also finished fourth overall at the Giro d’Italia in May, and was expected to lead Israel-Premier Tech’s GC charge at this month’s Vuelta a España, but was surprisingly left out of the team’s line-up for the Spanish grand tour.
That decision began to make more sense last week, after Israel-Premier Tech announced that Gee had told the team that he was cancelling his contract and leaving with immediate effect on 9 August, two weeks before the Vuelta’s start in Turin.
“Israel-Premier Tech firmly believes that Gee’s contract is valid until 2028 and is engaged in continued discussions with Gee’s representatives and the UCI to resolve the situation and uphold the respective contract,” a statement issued by the team read.
Derek Gee, stage 20, 2025 Giro d’Italia (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Gee remained silent on the matter throughout the weekend, sparking speculation about the reasons behind his decision, but on Monday posted a statement on social media confirming that his contract with Israel-Premier Tech “has been formally and duly terminated by my legal representatives”.
“This was not an easy decision, but one I made after careful consideration and for legitimate reasons. Certain issues simply made my continuation at the team untenable,” Gee said.
Gee’s decision to leave Israel-Premier Tech mid-contract has fuelled speculation, first reported by Daniel Benson, that he is heading to the Ineos Grenadiers, where former team principal Dave Brailsford has returned to lead a new recruitment drive ahead of the 2026 season.
However, the Canadian national champion insisted in his statement that he has not yet spoken to any team about a deal for next year.
“I want to make it very clear, despite some current reporting, this decision solely concerns the termination of my previous contract with Israel-Premier Tech. In accordance with UCI regulations, I have not yet signed with, nor even spoke to, any new teams,” the 28-year-old said.
“I wish to send a heartfelt thank you to the staff and riders I had the privilege of working with in my time in the organisation.”
Derek Gee, stage 11, 2024 Tour de France (credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Following Gee’s post, Israel-Premier Tech has issued its own statement, doubling down on its insistence that the Canadian remains part of the team, teeing up a messy and protracted legal battle that could potentially make it all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Israel-Premier Tech remains firm in its stance that Derek Gee’s contract with the team is valid,” the team said.
“The situation is now in the hands of the UCI and legal representatives to resolve. No further comments can be made.”
While Gee’s reasons for leaving the squad have remained deliberately vague, his early exit comes after two former Israel-Premier Tech riders described leaving the squad as a “relief”, due to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
Last week, Danish pro Jakob Fuglsang, who retired earlier this year after spending the last three and a half years of his career with the team, recently said it was “definitely nicer to ride without an Israel logo than with it” while reflecting on his departure after protests at major races this year, including the Tour de France, targeted the team’s presence in the peloton.
Jayco-AlUla rider Alessandro De Marchi, who represented IPT in 2021 and 2022, similarly told the Observer he was “happy and relieved” not to race for the squad anymore, before calling on the UCI to “show that as a cycling world we care about human rights and international law violations”.
“We need to see real action from our governing body to position the cycling world on the right side and to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza,” he said.