On Tuesday, as I spoke with Derek Gee-West, we had a very fitting interruption. Some birds flew into the room he was in during our video call. The birder quickly identified them as house sparrows.
Gee-West is in Dénia, Spain, with Lidl-Trek’s January camp. Since he’s a late addition to the squad, he’s getting set up on his bikes, which has included aero testing on his time trial bike on a velodrome. The team is generally focused on training in preparation for the season ahead. (For a few, racing starts in less than a week at the Tour Down Under.)
The rider from Osgoode, Ont., seemed relaxed as he sported a Lidl-Trek branded hoodie. Our talk ranged from the challenges of the second half of 2025 as he couldn’t race because of a contact dispute with his former team, the hurried process of getting up to speed with this new team and his national champions jersey, which has caused a bit of a kerfuffle.
This interview has been condensed for clarity.
On Jan. 6, the announcement came out that you joined Lidl-Trek. Why was that the right day for the announcement?
There’s just a whole bunch of paperwork. Usually this is done far in advance, but I joined the team really late. Then there were the holidays. It just takes some time.
Can you tell me anything about how you came in contact with the team and how the wheels were set in motion for this new position at Lidl-Trek?
A lot of it is obviously behind the scenes stuff with my agents. I didn’t initiate contact, but it was super late. It was into December. The timing was honestly right up to where I think it might have affected my 2026 season. So I’m really glad it got done when it did because I really feel like I didn’t miss anything in the prep. I think it worked out about as well as it could have in the end.
The big story, of course, for 2025 was the contract dispute between you and your former team Israel-Premier Tech, now NSN Cycling. I’ve asked you questions about that, and there’s just a lot of it that you can’t discuss. But during that uncertain time for you, how did you feel?
There definitely were ups and downs. It was a very, very stressful time. It obviously went on for quite a while. I was able to continue, you know, to keep my head down, train and prepare for 2026.
But now that I’m in a new environment, a new team and I’m preparing for the season, the stress has left. It’s something in the past. Honestly, I feel really, really good. I feel motivated and ready for the new…
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