Canadian cyclist Derek Gee of Ontario achieved his first-ever WorldTour general classification podium on Sunday, finishing third in the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Critérium du Dauphiné is an annual cycling road race in the southeast of France, in the Dauphiné region. The race takes place over eight days in the first half of June and serves as an important warm-up for the Tour de France. Gee was also honoured as the Giro d’Italia’s “super combative rider.”

Gee praised his Israel-Premier Tech teammates for supporting him during the challenging final part of the race, which included 3,640 meters of climbing and a 9.4-kilometer 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.”

Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic, a top contender for the Tour de France, won the eight-day race by a margin of just eight seconds over American Matteo Jorgenson, with Gee finishing 28 seconds behind. Gee, a 26-year-old from Ottawa, was in third place overall at the start of the final day. In the points race, he came in fourth, and in the climbing category, he finished sixth. Gee was 11 seconds behind the leader and 43 seconds ahead of the next contender, Aleksandr Vlasov. Gee won Stage 3, earning himself the yellow leader’s jersey in the general classification. He was the first Canadian to wear the leader’s jersey since David Veilleux in 2013.

After placing sixth in the time trial, Gee moved up to fourth place overall. The Thursday race ended early due to a large crash. By Friday, Gee had moved to fourth place and advanced to third place on Saturday. In his first Grand Tour race last year, Gee finished second four times and fourth twice in the Giro d’Italia. In the final general classification standings, Gee finished 22nd. In the points race, he was the runner-up to Italy’s Jonathan Milan and in the King of the Mountains standings, he was runner-up to France’s Thibaut Pinot.

Source: NortheastNOW