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Derek Gee on his absolutely unforgettable first Paris-Roubaix

The Canadian was in the early break when disaster struck

chicanes before to slow riders down at Paris-Roubaix? Photo by: Sirotti
April 10, 2023
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Canada’s Derek Gee experienced the full spectrum of emotions on Sunday in his first Paris-Roubaix. He tried several times to get clear in an early move, but was thwarted by an aggressive pack. Finally, after 80 km, he made a four-man breakaway. All was going relatively well (if you consider going 50 km/h in a break, “well”) when they hit the famous Arenberg forest.

The IPT rider said it was “probably one of the coolest moments of my life as the first guy onto the Arenberg to maybe one of the worst moments of my life standing there watching everyone go past.” As he entered the famous section, his tire exploded and he suddenly found himself between some very large rocks and a hard pace.

The cobbles of Arenberg gobble up Gee’s front wheel.

With all the traffic of cyclists and cars, it meant a very long five-minute wait for a wheel for the 25 year old from near Ottawa. For the next 90 km he battled on solo. “There was no way I wasn’t finishing,” he said.

Although Gee entered the famous velodrome 25 minutes and 44 seconds down on solo winner Mathieu van der Poel, he wasn’t sure if he would make the time cut. Later in the bus, his team confirmed that he crossed the line in 135th, the last rider to make it inside the 26:18 time cut.

“It was an amazing experience for sure. I was jumping in a lot of moves but at the end of the day, I think it’s a lot of luck that one of the ones I jumped across to stuck and then I had this surreal moment of knowing I’m in the breakaway at Roubaix,” Gee said.

Despite the bad luck, Gee hopes to ride the Hell of the North again.

“The part [of the mechanical problem] that was really frustrating was that I had good legs and I still felt good so I thought maybe I could at least find some guys and ride to the finish but there was no one around so I rode solo. There was no way I was stopping. I knew I was going to make it, even not knowing if I would be in the time limit or not.”