Derek Gee’s second Giro d’Italia will be very, very different

On Friday, Israel–Premier Tech heads to Albania for the Giro d’Italia—and the team has big goals for Osgoode, Ont.’s Derek Gee.

It’s his second Giro in two years. His first race was a true breakout performance for the Olympian.

Having had a solid career on the track, he began transitioning to a larger focus on the road—including doing his first Grand Tour. And boy oh boy, what a Giro he had in 2023. He had four second places on stages, along with two fourths in his Grand Tour debut. He finished second overall in the KOM, second overall in the sprints, second overall in the intermediate sprints, and 22nd overall.

The 2025 Giro d’Italia and Derek Gee

Back then, he was an outsider—but now, two years later, it’s a little different.

“It was pretty special to be hunting for stages two years ago, but this time I’ll have a different and more ambitious goal—thinking of the GC,” Gee said. “I don’t want to put a specific number on what my expectations are for the general classification, I just want to continue building on what we’ve already achieved this season. Then, hopefully, in Rome, we can look back and have a good number on the board. I really just want to do the best race I can.”

The evolution of Gee and G.C.

Since then he’s had a slew of big results. He’s won the G.C. at O Gran Camiño, won a stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné, as well as finishing third overall. In 2025, he finished fourth at Tirreno–Adriatico after fighting back from a tough first day. And of course, in 2024, he showed the world he can keep with the best, finishing ninth at the Tour and in the mix in some of the toughest mountain stages.

Corbin Strong, Hugo Houle, Jakob Fuglsang, Jan Hirt, Marco Frigo, Nick Schultz, and Simon Clarke will line up alongside Gee. While their main role is to support the Canadian, several of them will also have opportunities to go for stage wins.

Israel – Premier Tech all-in for Gee

Sam Bewley was the Israel–Premier Tech directeur sportif for Gee’s first Giro in 2023, so it’s no surprise he will be back for his second attempt.

“It’s no secret that we are going to the Giro d’Italia to ride the GC with Derek. We believe that with his abilities and physical capacities, we can do a really good GC with him. Of course, we want to win stages at the Giro too. So, we’ve got a number of guys capable of doing that. There should be plenty of opportunities for breakaways to succeed this year, and we’ve got some really good guys to be part of that. Furthermore, there are a lot of punchy, uphill finishes this year that really suit Corbin,” he said. “Overall, we’ve got a well-rounded group, with the main objective being the GC while also trying to pick up a few stage wins along the way.”

Gee said that his team has been great from the beginning of 2025, and he is excited for the Grande Partenza in Albania.

“The core group of us has raced together at every race, and it has just been incredible. We have such good chemistry as a team, and hopefully, we can translate that into getting some good results. I’m really looking forward to this Giro,” he added.

Tough racing from Day 1

Racing begins on Friday with a lumpy 160 km stage from Durrës to Tirana. Stage 2 is a time trial in Tirana. It’s fast and flat and, at 13.7 km, suits the former individual pursuit and national TT champion.

Primož Roglič, winner of this year’s Volta a Catalunya and already a maglia rosa winner from 2023, is definitely the favourite for pink. Roglič will be challenged by Richard Carapaz, Mikel Landa, Egan Bernal and Juan Ayuso, who is making his Giro debut.