This article is part of Cycling Weekly's 'the ride that changed me' series. Our writers hear from a range of professional and ex-professional cyclists about that one day on the bike that changed the trajectory of their career for good.
Derek Gee burst into the popular cycling imagination with his performances at the Giro d'Italia last May. The Canadian finished second on four different stages of the Italian Grand Tour, and second in the King of the Mountains and points competitions. It was some race for the 25-year-old, in his neo-pro year.
Gee quickly became a fan favourite, with his daring breakaway rides, and his performances at the Giro netted him a fresh contract with Israel-Premier Tech, one which lasts until 2028.
However, the ride that actually changed him, gave him the belief that he had a place in the professional peloton, and came over a year earlier, in February 2022. Gee, then riding for the team's development squad, Israel Cycling Academy, was given the chance to race with the team's WorldTour setup at O Gran Camiño in northern Spain.
"I think it was actually probably one of my first races with the WorldTour team in 2022," the Canadian said. "I was racing out with them at O Gran Camiño where Mike [Woods] was fighting for the win.
"He had this really emphatic win on on one of the stages [stage two, to the Mirador do Ézaro]. It was just one of the steepest climbs I've ever done."
"But that was, I think, my first opportunity racing, WorldTour guys," Gee continued. "What got me my first pro contract was just being able to compete there."
The Canadian finished the race 23rd overall, after coming fifth in the final stage's individual time trial, while Woods, his compatriot and teammate, came second on general classification.
"It was a 2.1 race, but just being able to not be completely blown out of the water, was good, racing WorldTour team. That was for sure where I was like 'oh, I actually might have a chance to make it pro'. At the time, I was on the conti team, it was mostly under-23, and I was 24. I knew I was going to give it a shot for a year and see how it works, and that was the first chance."
Gee benefited from his tasters of the WorldTour squad, which helped him see his was on the right path to make it as a professional. The apprenticeship, if you will, helped him realise his potential.
"You don't want to be the guy who comes in from the conti team and is useless," he explained. But at the same time, it's a really good system, because the team obviously isn't expecting everything.
"They know the guys from the conti team that are racing out are doing it for experience. It's not like in my first prerace meeting, it was 'here's your job, don't mess it up'. There was no pressure like that.
"I was rooming with Mike at the time who is from the same city as me. Seeing as I knew him, it was actually a really nice transition."
Join us for the next instalment of 'the ride that changed me' in a fortnight's time.
