'The mindset has been to be patient' – Derek Gee biding his time as team predict Giro d'Italia GC to 'crack' on stage 19

Even as the riders finished stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, eyes were very much already on stages 19 and 20, the two big mountain stages that are set to decide this finely-poised race.

With four riders within two minutes of the race lead, and two packed days of climbing to come, there's very much a sense that anything could still happen in this race, with all the podium spots and the win very much up for grabs.

The rider who has perhaps the most to gain and the most to lose in these next two days is Israel-Premier Tech's Derek Gee. 

Unlike Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) or Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), the Canadian has not won a Grand Tour before, but he's also not a young rider like maglia rosa Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), where even finishing in the top 10 would be a big result. Fourth, where Gee sits now, would be a career-best result, but at the same time, the podium is tantalisingly close.

He currently sits 1:06 off third place, an annoying number when you consider he lost just under a minute on stage 1, but has ridden into form after a tough start to the race. 

"He's in a super good condition," Israel-Premier Tech DS Sam Bewley told Cyclingnews on Thursday.

"Obviously, losing some time, specifically the first stage, he lost 57 seconds there, he didn't start the Giro well. Maybe his run-in the last few days was challenging, in Albania, to get good training done. So maybe a bit of that. It's easy to look at the GC and go 'oh, if he hadn't lost that 57 seconds, where would he be?' But when you look at it a little bit deeper, I think that he would actually be where he is. 

"Losing that 57 seconds on the first stage meant that he got the better side of the weather in the time trial on stage 10, so all these little things have worked themselves out in the end. So sitting fourth on GC now going into this final weekend is, I think, his place in the Giro, because of the legs he has, and we'll see what happens the next couple of days."

One thing that has allowed Gee to ride back from that initial loss and into podium contention has been Israel-Premier Tech's measured approach to the race. Bewley has tried to instill in his team that the Giro is long, which has helped deal with setbacks, and focus on the part of the race that matters: this week. 

Gee has been notably conservative in his racing, but that's been a deliberate choice, and all building towards these final two stages. 

"Obviously, this final week is so big, and it was always going to be the week that defines the GC, so we had to be patient until this point and then look for opportunities when they come or capitalise on opportunities when they come our way. The mindset has been to be patient," Bewley said.

"At the end of the day, you can complicate things with strategies a lot in these races, but when you get stage 19 and 20, there's two things that decide how you go: your legs and the hills. We don't want to overcomplicate things."

However, if Gee wants to move up, he's going to have to either go on the attack or crack a rival in the stages to come. Whilst a lot of attention is on stage 20 and the Colle delle Finestre, Bewley pointed to stage 19 – with its three back-to-back category 1 climbs – as the day that could break things apart, before stage 20 cements things. 

"Stage 19 is the one where I think if anyone's going to crack, and hopefully it's not Derek, it's probably going to be stage 19," he said. 

"It's just a big load day, three of four 45-50 minute climbs, it's a different style of racing to what we've had so far in this Giro, with the exception of stage 16. It will suit some guys better than others," he continued.

"Everyone talks about stage 20 and Colle delle Finestre as well [...] Everyone knows how threatening that climb is, but it's going to be about more than just one climb, it's going to be about four or five climbs over the course of two stages."

Gee himself spoke briefly at the finish of stage 18, echoing his DS's thoughts, but being as non-committal as most GC riders are at this point.

"It's the last two big days, so we'll see. I feel good, but if the weather's like this you never know, but I'm looking forward to it," he said.

The weather is expected to be cooler on Friday and Saturday than it was on Thursday, but the daunting profiles remain the same, and someone's Giro is sure to crack soon – Gee, and everyone, will just hope it's not theirs. 

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