January 14/26 17:11 pm - Derek Gee West Interview

Posted by Editor on 01/14/26
 

Last summer, Canadian road cyclist Derek Gee West, after finishing fourth overall at the Giro d'Italia and winning the national road championship title, sent shockwaves through the cycling world when he announced that he would no longer race for the Israel Premier Tech (IPT) team, citing "serious concerns regarding racing for the team from both a safety and personal belief perspective".

The legal issues eventually involved the UCI, with an undisclosed settlement reached by the end of the year, and it was announced early in the new year that Gee West would join Lidl-Trek on a three year contract through 2028.

Derek has stayed silent through the contract dispute, however, he spoke with us from Spain last week, where he is preparing for the 2026 season.

Canadian Cyclist:  Last year was a bit of a rollercoaster for you, so you must be pretty relieved right now.

Derek Gee West:  Massively, massively. Yeah, it was a definitely a strange year, so I'm really, really relieved to get back in the peloton and just get back to racing.

CC:  You obviously couldn't talk about the situation much at the time because you were in the middle of some protracted negotiations. You had a strong start to the season - fourth in the Giro, won O Gran Camino, won Nationals - and when I spoke with you at Nationals you said you would be doing the Vuelta. And then it all stopped ... what happened?

DGW:  There is not a lot I can actually talk about for a bunch of reasons ... for one, I don't want to go into it too much, and out of respect for a new team and new sponsors I just want to look forward to the future now. It was definitely an interesting situation, but I'm hoping being away from the peloton for the last part of the season isn't too big of a loss when I step back in.

CC:  You basically lost the second half of your season - didn't do the Vuelta, didn't do Quebec/Montreal, didn't do Worlds ... what sort of impact do you think that has had on you?

DGW:  I'm hoping it won't be too much of an issue. I got to go to the [Lidl-Trek] camp in December and do some testing, and everything seems to be right where it was in December of last year, so I'm really hoping [it will be good], stepping back in as everyone is coming back from the off-season. It'll be nice to get back in the peloton and, from a physical standpoint, I don't feel that I'm missing anything from having missed that last part of the season.

CC:  Previously, you were 'the' GC guy for the team for the Grand Tours. Now you are going to a team where they have a few options - Juan Ayuso, Giulio Ciccone. How is that going to change things for you and your role?

DGW:  It'll be very interesting. The team, from our conversations, is super, super ambitious, and I like that. There's enough Would Tour racing to split up among everyone who wants to go for GC, and also for some races have multiple leaders in a strategic sense. When you look at the strength and depth of the top teams that is really important, so it's something I'm really looking forward to. I think just having multiple GC guys allows a team to be at the forefront of more racing.

CC:  Have you had discussions on what will be the focus of your season? There are three Grand Tours, you done two of them, finishing top-10 in both [fourth in the Giro, ninth in the Tour], but I think the Giro is the one you are most associated with.

DGW:  Yeah, it's definitely my favourite; the Giro has a special place in my heart and I really love that race. I'm really looking forward to going back there, and I think that's the plan for this year. It's going to be fun.

It's a very different approach than other teams; when you have the best sprinters in the world [Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan] there's going to be a lead out train and all that, but I'm really excited to go back.

CC:  One of the things you and I talked about after last year's Giro was that you felt that what you were missing was some of that top end speed for when [the other GC contenders] accelerated on the climbs, and that was something you had to work on. Is that something that you've been doing?

DGW:  Not so much right now because of the actual phasing in of the season. It's still preseason, so it's base time of year. But that's definitely something to keep an eye on, moving forward in the prep for the big goals this season. And I've obviously got to figure out how to one day race, because it's home Worlds in Montreal! So there's lots of learning for me to do.

CC:  You said you are going to start racing in February, so do you know what the early part of your season is going to look like?

DGW:  Some training camps for now, and then I should kick off at Volta Algarve [February 18-22].

CC:  Maybe defending at O Gran Camino?

DGW:  No, I don't think I'm going back this year. I think Algarve and then maybe Catalunya. It was all very rushed, so I don't know how much was set in stone. I was only announced a few days ago, so it's all pretty late.

CC:  On a totally separate topic ... I assume that you've seen that there's been some trash talking on social media about your new national champion's jersey?

DGW:  [Laughs] Yes, I have seen it! It's actually quite funny, because this jersey has been around before. This is the same jersey that Bella and Ava [Holmgren] have both worn. The only difference is that you never see it on them because they go out and win Pan Ams or Worlds, so they're always wearing some different jersey. I think it caught quite a few people off guard. It's not the most colourful, but I actually think it looks quite good, especially with the design of the bike this year, which is white. It doesn't scream Canada, that's for sure.

CC:  Obviously, the Worlds at the end of the season is a big thing for Canadian riders, any idea of in between the Giro and Worlds? Are we going to see you at the Tour as well?

DGW:  No, that's pretty unlikely; not only because of the Giro but because of the riders this team has. I think it's been announced that Ayuso is going for the Tour, and Pedersen as well. So, likely I'll be back to try and defend Nationals.

CC:  That would be great to see you there.

DGW:  There should be some good racing, with so many riders on different teams, with Hugo [Houle] on a different team [Alpecin], EF with Michael Leonard, and Zuk [Nick Zukowsky] on Q36.5 ... it should be a really good Nationals.

CC:  That's a really good point; for the past few years pretty much everybody has been on one team. Do you think this is a good thing, to see riders spread around more?

DGW:  100%. I felt bad last year for Michael Leonard, because he was unbelievably strong, but there were so many of us on one team. I think it will make for some really, really good racing at Nationals.

CC:  I also wanted to say congratulations on your marriage [to Ruby West].

DGW:  Thank you very much. It was a bit cold, but other than that, a lovely Dundas day!

CC:  I wanted, obviously, to talk more about why you made your decision to leave the team last year, because it was a huge announcement, and not the sort of thing that you hear very often.

DGW:  100%. But I think for now - I may discuss it more in the future - but for now, it was such a tough period that I'm going to leave it in the past for at least a little while and just focus on getting back into the swing of things with the new team. Keep my attention looking forward. I'm sure a lot of people are very curious, but it's just the kind of thing where, at this point, I don't want to discuss it too much.