Canadian rider Gee celebrates podium finish in Critérium du Dauphiné

THÔNES, France — Canadian rider Derek Gee celebrated his first ever WorldTour general classification podium Sunday, finishing third in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Slovenia's Primoz Roglic, a favourite for the Tour de France, held on to win the eight-day, 1,020.6-kilometre race by eight seconds over American Matteo Jorgenson with Gee another 28 seconds behind.

The Critérium du Dauphiné is considered a key Tour de France warm-up race.

Eleven racers have won the race and the Tour de France in the same year, most recently Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard in 2023.

“A podium in one of the biggest stage races before one of the most important races of the season is a clear indication of Derek’s abilities and we look forward to seeing what he can do down the line,” said Israel-Premier Tech sports director Daryl Impey.

Gee credited his teammates for their support in a gruelling finale that included 3,640 metres of climbing and a final 9.4-kilometres ascent.

"I'm really glad I could do that because the boys gave me everything," an exhausted Gee said after the race. "I'm just really happy I finished that off."

Spain's Carlos Rodríguez won Sunday's 160.6-kilometre final stage, which started at Thieres and finished at Plateau des Glieres, with Jorgenson second and Gee third. Roglic was sixth.

The 26-year-old Gee from Ottawa was in a small lead group but was eventually dropped by Rodriguez and Jorgenson with a kilometre to go.

“All week I was nervous, waiting for the legs to give out,” Gee said. “After the (finish) line I was suffering so much I couldn’t enjoy it but now, it’s all starting to sink in. There will be a lot of reflection after this. Right now I am just enjoying it as it is. But, it’s been really cool.

“I was suffering on the final climb but as soon as I saw Roglic get dropped I thought 'Maybe I have good legs today' so I gave it a shot. Matteo (Jorgenson) said he was on the limit and couldn’t pull through and pulled off and then I was immediately on the limit. Rodriguez and Jorgenson rode away and I couldn’t do anything about that but I was really happy with the legs.”

Fellow Israel-Premier Tech rider Hugo Houle, from Sainte-Perpétue, Que., finished 64th overall.

Gee, who went into Sunday's finale in third place overall, also placed fourth in the points race and sixth in the climbing category.

Roglic, a favourite for the Tour, won the penultimate stage to lead the overall standings by 62 seconds over Jorgenson.

Gee was another 11 seconds back, some 43 seconds ahead of Russian Aleksandr Vlasov.

Gee won Stage 3 on Tuesday, earning the right to wear the yellow leader's jersey in the general classification. He became the first Canadian to wear the leader's jersey since David Veilleux, who won the first stage in 2013 and held onto the lead for three days.

Gee dropped to fourth overall after finishing sixth in Wednesday's time trial.

Stage 5 Thursday was called prematurely after a mass crash. Gee held on to fourth place overall Friday, moving into third Saturday.

Gee's performance included four top-10 finishes.

“This whole week has been a nice surprise," Impey said. ”Coming into the Critérium du Dauphiné, we believed Derek could do a decent (general classification) result here but he exceeded expectations. Purely because of the hard work he has been putting in prior to this, working hard at camp, but not just him, the whole team."

Gee turned heads last year in his first Grand Tour race, finishing second four times and fourth twice in the Giro d'Italia.

He placed 22nd in the final general classification standings and was runner-up to Italy’s Jonathan Milan in the points race and France’s Thibaut Pinot in the King of the Mountains standings.

The Canadian was also honoured as the Giro’s “super combative rider.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2024