Good news for Tom Pidcock and Derek Gee-West fans! Both of them are back in action this week. For Pidcock, the multi-disciplined star is set to pin a number on again at the Tour of the Alps. It’s been a minute since he raced, just under a month ago he hit the deck at the Volta a Catalunya and had to withdraw.
The Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider hasn’t raced since going down on Stage 5 on March 27. At first it didn’t seem too bad, but the next day his knee was pretty bunged up. It forced a short pause just as his spring campaign was building.
Lidl-Trek’s Gee West also withdrew before Stage 5. The Osgoode, Ont. rider posted on Instagram said he hasn’t been feeling well all week, and will instead prioritize rest in order to prepare for bigger goals.
The Tour of the Alps
Now, Piddy and our national champ are back in the mix for the five-stage Alpine race, which runs April 20–24 from Innsbruck to Bolzano. In 2025, Gee-West finished third.
It’s not exactly a gentle re-entry to the bunch. The Tour of the Alps is typically all bite. Short stages, sure, but constant climbing, as the name suggests.
There’s a bigger target just around the corner, too for Pidcock: Liège–Bastogne–Liège on April 26. For Gee-West, his focus include the upcoming Giro d’Italia, where he returns with a bid for the overall.
The plan, for now, is for Pidcock take things day by day and see how the knee responds under race stress rather than lock into anything too rigid, his team said. Sunday is the beginning of the Ardennes Classics with the Amstel Gold Race.
Then, Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne. Although men’s world champ Tadej Pogačar won’t be in the first two, he will be at Liège. So it should be another battle royale.
There are plenty of Canadians racing all week, too, including the women’s world champ, Sherbrooke’s Magdeleine Vallières Mill. She’s made it clear the next few races are some big goals for her. In Friday’s warm-up race, shall we say, at Brabantse Pijl, she finished 12th in a reduced bunch sprint. The next few races, however, should be more selective, and she can use her climbing prowess to hopefully score another big result.