Osgoode, Ont.’s Derek Gee-West is back in the fray, racing at the Tour of the Alps. The same goes for Tom Pidcock who marked his return to racing after a spell on the sidelines.

Tour of the Alps is a good prep race for Giro d’Italia, with a week of tough race miles ideal for the Italian Grand Tour.

The first stage was supposed to be the easiest…but it certainly was not, on paper. Although there were still 1,700 m of climbing still added up over the 144.3-km route. As the stage race’s name suggests, there’s a lot of climbing.

Stage 1

Two times up Götzens in the finale offered a chance to shake things up, but the last stretch into Innsbruck flattened out, keeping the race largely under control.

An early trio slipped clear, Tobias Nolde, Emanuel Zangerle and Josef Dirnbauer, but their advantage never seriously threatened the peloton. As the kilometres ticked down, the breakaway riders were gradually reeled in, with Zangerle the last to be caught.

With a sprint looming, INEOS Grenadiers went to the front. In a technical final filled with corners, Thymen Arensman jumped clear in a well-timed move.

The Dutch rider had a gap, but coordination in the chase improved inside the final kilometre and he was brought back juuuust before the line.

In the drag to the finish, Tommaso Dati timed his effort perfectly, edging out Pidcock for the win.
Meanwhile, Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) finished 14th. Just like Pidcock–who crashed out of Volta a Catalunya, the Canadian champ also abandoned Stage 5 in Spain.

Derek Gee-West withdraws from Volta a Catalunya

He said he hadn’t been feeling well and needed time to recover for bigger goals later in the year. One of them is the 2026 Giro. He will return there with a goal to podium…or more. In 2025, he rode, well, just missing the podium in 4th.

The rest of his year didn’t go smoothly and he didn’t race at all after snagging the road nats. He was supposed to do the Tour du Pologne and the Vuelta a España with his former team Israel-Premier Tech…but we all know that story.

For 2026, he’s new team and a new national champs jersey.

His season began well, however, despite missing such a large racing block. He was up there at the UAE Tour, ultimately finishing 7th overall and holding his own on the climbs. Stage 2 of the Tour of the Alps is pretty brutal. Two major climbs and a summit finish highlights the day’s racing, from Telfs to Martell/Val Martello for a total of 147.5km.

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