Halfway by way of Canada’s recon of the World Championships combined relay course, Derek Gee had the sinking realisation that he would quickly be seeing an entire lot extra of the arduous circuit that loops by way of the hills behind Zurich.
“We have been reconning it with the TTT in thoughts after which abruptly, we realised – Wait, that is additionally the street race course – in order that was a bit of daunting,” Gee smiled after finishing the combined relay on Wednesday afternoon. “It’s going to make for an attention-grabbing race on Sunday.”
Gee and his companions positioned seventh on their debut within the combined relay, however the Canadian squad may have loftier ambitions in Sunday’s street race, the place Michael Woods will lead the road. Woods was a bronze medallist in Innsbruck six years in the past and he arrives in Switzerland buoyed by his stage victory on the Puerto de Ancares on the Vuelta a España.
“We’re all in for Mike and he’s on nice kind proper now. He’s coming off profitable a Vuelta stage and he’s tremendous motivated,” Gee mentioned. “He’s medalled on the World Championships earlier than and on a very laborious course too, so hopefully that bodes effectively for the weekend.”
On paper, the 273km Zurich course is the hardest because the Imola Worlds in 2020, and it would show much more demanding in follow. The 27km ending circuit over the climbs of Zürichbergstrasse and Witikonerstrasse presents few apparent factors of respite, and Gee expects the bunch to be whittled down significantly forward of the ultimate laps.
“It’s laborious to check it to something I can consider – possibly the GP Montréal, as a result of it’s received an identical quantity of elevation, however there are some actually laborious and steep climbs right here,” Gee mentioned.
“I feel it’s going to be an actual gradual burn. There’s nowhere to relaxation. You possibly can attempt to save your workforce, however guys will begin going out the again each lap effectively earlier than it kicks off, as a result of it’s such a protracted race and there’s nowhere actually to reap the benefits of sitting in. Even the descent is fairly technical, particularly with the peloton stringing out so. I feel it’s simply going to be actually, actually attritional and, effectively, daunting.”
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Tadej Pogačar is the overwhelming favorite for this World Championships as he seeks so as to add the rainbow bands to the yellow and pink jerseys he has already claimed this yr. Gee agreed with that consensus given the character of the route – “There’s no hiding, so that is the sort of course the place the strongest man has a very good shot” – although the Worlds can typically tackle a logic of its personal because the laps begin counting down.
“I feel everybody is aware of who the favorite is and the way he possible needs it to play out, however on the similar time there are such a lot of unknowns on the Worlds when it’s not your commerce workforce,” Gee mentioned. “Groups are much more more likely to toss stuff on the wall and see what sticks, particularly when there’s a rainbow jersey on the road, so I think about there’ll be some fairly unorthodox racing.”
Season
After catching the attention together with his aggression as a neo-pro finally yr’s Giro d’Italia, Gee loved a effective sophomore season at this stage in 2024. His spring marketing campaign was interrupted by a damaged collarbone at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, however he would make amends in the summertime, putting third general on the Critérium du Dauphiné and ninth on GC at his debut Tour de France.
Like many on this Olympic yr, Gee has struggled to seek out the identical kind within the latter a part of the season. His solely racing between the Paris Olympics and the Zurich Worlds got here on dwelling roads on the WorldTour races in Québec and Montréal, and he confessed that fatigue had been an element. It’s all a part of the educational course of for a rider who spent a lot of his 20s centered totally on the observe.
“It’s been laborious to seek out the legs once more within the second half of the season, and I feel it’s about studying to handle what works for me,” Gee mentioned. “Doing an altitude camp, the Dauphiné and the Tour construct was an enormous load, and I feel possibly I used to be a bit too motivated with that kind and I didn’t relaxation correctly. There are all these little issues that you just study season by season.”
Irrespective of how Gee’s season ends, ideas of that purple patch in June and July will maintain the 27-year-old by way of the winter as he builds in direction of 2025. “You at all times simply hope that’s your new bottom line and you’ll work up from there,” he mentioned.
“There’s at all times ups and downs, and it was the identical within the second half of final season after the Giro, once I did observe for the summer time. I by no means actually discovered these legs once more till this season, so it’s all simply studying. It’s powerful however it’s additionally motivating for the years forward.”
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