Derek Gee-West’s move to Lidl-Trek is being framed as a long-term bet on a rider who has spent the past three seasons turning bold Grand Tour raids into genuine general classification credibility. The team confirmed the Canadian champion has signed a three-year deal that will keep him in Lidl-Trek colours through the end of 2028, strengthening its climbing group and stage-race depth.
From Giro breakout to GC direction
Gee-West first forced his way into the wider conversation during the 2023 Giro d’Italia, where he made a habit of getting into the race rather than waiting for it to come to him. Four second places across the three weeks, plus runner-up finishes in both the points and mountains classifications, painted a clear picture of the rider he was at that point: relentless, aggressive, and close to something bigger even without a stage win.
The important detail, looking back, is that his Giro wasn’t a one-off spike. The seasons that followed have leaned towards stage racing in a more rounded sense, with climbing backed up by time trial performances that matter in modern GC racing.
Results that changed the expectation level
The trajectory outlined by Lidl-Trek is built around a steady shift from animating stages to shaping overall races:
- 2024: a stage win and overall podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné, followed by a top-10 finish at the Tour de France
- 2025: overall victory at O Gran Camiño, then a fourth place overall at the Giro d’Italia after three weeks of consistent climbing and damage limitation
Those results are not the profile of a rider who needs a perfect day to make an impact. They are the profile of a rider who can hold form, absorb pressure, and stay relevant deep into a stage race when the weeks start to grind.
Why Lidl-Trek sees the fit
The move is being presented as a change of environment as much as a change of jersey. Gee-West pointed to the team’s depth and ambition, and to what that allows tactically in stage races.
“It’s pretty special to be joining Lidl-Trek,” Gee-West said. “From the outside, you can already see that this is an organisation operating very close to the gold standard in our sport, and that was something that really appealed to me.”
He also leaned into the idea of shared leadership rather than a single-track project.
“I’m really looking forward to racing with shared ambitions and multiple options within the team,” he said. “Being part of a group where we can play different cards in stage races and Grand Tours is something new for me.”
That matters because Lidl-Trek has increasingly built itself as a team that can race in layers. In a Grand Tour context, that can mean protecting a leader with climbing support, but it can also mean having credible alternatives when the race demands flexibility rather than loyalty.
Photo Credit: GettyA long contract, and a clear development plan
Lidl-Trek general manager Luca Guercilena presented the signing as both reinforcement and unfinished business, focusing on the scope of Gee-West’s progression rather than what he has already delivered.
“Bringing Derek on board is a big boost for us,” Guercilena said. “Over the last three years he has shown an incredibly high level in stage races, and we’re sure we haven’t even seen his limit yet.”
The key line is the promise of structure. Guercilena said Gee-West will have “the full support of our performance resources to fully realise his potential”, which is the language teams use when a rider is expected to build towards bigger leadership rather than simply fill a role.
What happens next
The immediate intrigue is less about a single target race and more about what Lidl-Trek can now look like across a full season of stage racing. Gee-West arrives with a profile that can be shaped in two directions at once: stage hunting when the situation demands, and disciplined GC work when the opportunity is realistic.
For Gee-West, the move reads as a commitment to that second path. A contract through 2028 gives him time to develop without forcing a breakthrough on a specific calendar deadline, and it places him inside a roster designed to race Grand Tours with options rather than a single point of failure.
If his last two seasons have been about proving he belongs in the GC conversation, Lidl-Trek’s pitch is that the next phase is about learning how to stay there, and turning fourth place and top-10s into podium-level consistency.
