Gee, the lone Canadian rider in the field, is excited to be taking part in his first Grand Tour event (the other two are the Tour de France and the Spanish Vuelta). But the 25-year-old from
"A good mix of excitement and nerves," Gee said. "Both for a lot of reasons. It's pretty exciting to get to a race this big and to get the opportunity in my first year as a pro. But at the same time, it's quite daunting — the three weeks of racing and the level this is at — so it's a healthy mix going in, I think."
Gee is riding for
Former Canadian cycling star
Gee will support veteran
Others on the Premier Tech Giro roster are Australians
Gee knows he will be tested at the Giro.
"It's almost incomprehensible for me, having never raced anything even remotely similar to some of the days in this year's Giro," he said. "So it's hard honestly for me to conceptualize just how hard some of these days are going to be."
Other Canadian riders on the
Gee has used all three as a resource.
"They're all experienced pros. They've been amazing — every race I've done with them — with their advice and guidance."
Canadians
"It does feel like home … It's nice to always see familiar faces," Gee said of the Canadian content on the team.
Canadians have made headlines at the Giro in the past.
The Giro starts in Ortona, with a 19.6-kilometre time trial, and ends
"
Gee has already taken part in the Santos Tour Down Under, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico,
Gee has been having the time of his life.
"When you're racing the highest-level races, it's really stuff that you've watched on TV since you were a kid and it's something really special to actually get to line up and race them. So I'm enjoying everything I've been lucky enough to line up for."
Gee signed a three-year deal with
"From this, we knew we couldn’t miss the opportunity to sign him to IPT,” said
Gee won the 2022 Canadian time trial national championship in wet, windy conditions in
He is also an accomplished track cyclist, coming fifth in the team pursuit at the
He won bronze in the team pursuit at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in
Gee hopes to continue to race both on the track and road.
"For sure
Gee's father is also a racer and won the 50-plus age-group national title in 2014. The two often cycled together growing up.
"He and I did have a competition to see who would win a national title first," said Derek. "I believe now I'm up to 12 or 13 national titles, between track and road, and he has one. But he got that one before I got any. So he'll always have that competition on me."
Gee now is based out of
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published
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