Derek Gee put on another incredible performance on stage 19 of the Tour de France, finishing in 10th place on the day and moving up to eighth place overall.
“Today was brutal,” Gee gasped after crossing the line. “I thought today was going to be the hardest stage for me in the race. I’m a bigger guy, and we had to do multiple long climbs at high altitude, but I’m really happy with how my legs were today.”
Right from the beginning of the day, the plan was clear: ‘Support and protect Derek at all costs.’ The IPT riders did a great job of rallying around their 26-year-old Canadian teammate, with Jakob Fuglsang staying with Gee until the main group thinned down to just the GC favorites on Col de la Bonette due to the frantic pace.
“I was hurting over the top of Bonette, but luckily the legs felt really good on the last climb,” Gee explained.
As the yellow jersey group took on the steep gradients of the final ascent up to Isola 2000, Gee’s main rivals for the Top 10 started to lose ground, while Gee himself hung on until Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team) attacked and soloed off to win the stage.
“I was with the front guys for longer than I expected in the altitude. It’s a weird feeling because you feel like you have good legs, and then suddenly it’s just lights out. Then it’s a real mental struggle just to get to the finish line. We did an altitude training camp here before the Tour, so I knew the roads well and always knew exactly how far I had to go on the final climb.”
At the end of the day, Gee’s performance saw him consolidate his Top 10 position in the general classification, sitting in eighth place ahead of the final two stages of the Tour de France this weekend.
“I’m happy I moved up in the GC, and I really hope I can keep my Top 10 position. As soon as I crossed the line, I was already thinking about tomorrow’s big mountain stage, which is another daunting task. But we are getting closer every day, and I just hope to have good legs again tomorrow.”
