Canadian beats Davide Piganzoli to victory by 17 seconds as former leader Magnus Cort sheds 25 seconds
Cort could only manage fourth place on the day, losing 25 seconds to the Canadian. Davide Piganzoli (Polti-VisitMalta) was second on the stage and Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ) was third
Gee now leads Cort by five seconds in the general classification
with Piganzoli third overall at 17 seconds
"I put a lot of expectations on myself going into this - we did some work on the TT bike over the winter
and then I wanted to start the year strong in the TT
This TT actually holds a special place in my heart
because in 2022 my result in the O Gran Camino TT is what helped me get my first pro contract
It was another really hard TT at this race
When asked whether he thinks he can hold the yellow jersey until the end on Sunday
Gee said he expected the coming stages to be "chaos"
"Uno-X showed yesterday how strong they are
And then there's a couple guys here who are really
Stage 3 of O Gran Camiño was a challenging 15.6km individual time trial from Ourense to Pereiro de Aguiar with a 5km climb in the first half of the route
Israel-Premier Tech's Pau Martí and Simon Clarke set two of the fastest early times
but were surpassed by Rafael Reis (Anicolor-Tien21) with a time of 24:20
Soudal-Quickstep's development team rider Federico Savino put in a strong effort to move into the hot seat
Hugo Houle put Israel-Premier Tech back on top
going 14 seconds quicker than Savino at 24:02
Urko Berrade (Kern Pharma) made up for some of the time he lost on stage 1 with a late puncture
going nine seconds faster than Houle to move into the hot seat
who crashed in the bunch sprint on the first stage
powered through with a time two seconds faster
But Berrade didn't even have time to head to the podium as Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ) was right behind
setting a time 12 seconds quicker – 23:39
Piganzoli then came through with a four-second advantage to take the lead as Magnus Cort began his effort
As the bigger names rolled down the ramp onto the course
it became clear that Piganzoli's time would not hold
Gee rolled through the intermediate check with the fastest time and was still the fastest at the finish
He was bleeding time all along the course and lost more than enough time to put Gee into the yellow jersey
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PEREIRO DE AGUIAR — Canadian Derek Gee won Friday's individual time trial to move into first place overall at the O Gran Camino cycling race in Spain
finished the 15.5-kilometre third stage in 23 minutes 17 seconds
Danish rider Magnus Cort dropped out of the lead after finishing fourth on the stage and now sits second overall
"I put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver on what was the expectation from the team — and myself — going into today
“We did some work on the TT (time trial) bike over the winter and I wanted to start the year strongly in the discipline."
Israel-Premier Tech teammate Hugo Houle is 36th overall after finishing ninth in the time trial
The riders face a 142-kilometre stage Saturday before Sunday's 165.3-kilometre finale ending up in Santiago de Compostela
Saturday's stage finishes on the Category 3 Alto de Cebreiro
"It's uncharted territory but I’m looking forward to it," Gee said
"(Saturday) will be a super-hard stage and then the last day could be chaos
Magnus did a great TT today and there are a couple of guys here who are really
while a member of the Israel-Premier Tech academy squad
he finished fifth in the O Gran Camino time trial
"This TT holds a special place in my heart because in 2022 my result in this race’s time trial is what helped me get my first pro contract," he said
"It was a hard one then and it was another hard one today."
Gee last led a race at the Criterium du Dauphiné last June in France
spending one day in the yellow jersey coincided with an individual time trial
Gee was promoted to Israel-Premier Tech's WorldTour squad from its academy in May 2022
He signed a new long-term deal in June 2023 following his breakout performance in his Grand Tour debut at the 2023 Giro d'Italia when he finished second four times and fourth twice
Gee eventually finished 22nd in the Giro's final general classification standings and was runner-up to Italy’s Jonathan Milan in the points race and France’s Thibaut Pinot in the King of the Mountains standings
Gee was also honoured as the Giro’s “super combative rider." Gee followed that by finishing ninth overall in last summer's Tour de France
The Canadian is slated to lead the Israel-Premier Tech team at this year's Giro
Gee missed two months of racing last year after breaking his collarbone in a crash in Belgium
He finished 44th in last summer's Olympic road race in Paris and was the top Canadian in the individual time trial
Gee was 22nd in the individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich
coming fifth in the team pursuit at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020
Canada’s best Olympic result in the event since 1932
he was part of the Canadian squad that finished fourth in the team pursuit at the UCI Track World Championships
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb
Derek Gee dominated Friday’s 15.6-km time trial at the O Gran Camino
claiming victory and seizing the yellow leader’s jersey from two-stage winner Magnus Cort
who won a Critérium du Dauphiné stage last year and finished on the podium
Houle briefly held the hot seat with a time of 24:01
Gee set the best intermediate time at Alto de Sabadelle with 14:32
surpassing Davide Piganzoli’s 23:34 finish
While Cort had a 20-second advantage over Gee to start the day
The time trial’s key feature was the Category 3 climb of Alto de Sabadelle
followed by a downhill finish in Pereiro de Aguiar
His final average speed was just under 40 km/h
which is equally impressive as the first half of the course was uphill
Although it’s unclear what his current weight is—anywhere between 72 and 76 kg—that would mean his output was 6 to 6.2 w/kg
There are two more stages left of the O Gran Camiño – The Historical Route
Stage 4 is from A Pobra do Brollón to O Cebreiro for a total of 137.1 km
It’s a lumpy day in the saddle with three tough climbs and a very difficult summit finish
is 159.87 km and is also littered with hills
we’ve seen his climbing skills at the Tour and Dauphiné
so it will be interesting to see if he can hold onto the lead
You can watch the race 0n Flobikes.com
Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine
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Olympic champion from Movistar Team back on her Canyon Speedmax in style
winning ahead of Tokyo silver medalist Marlen Reusser (ALE); Swiss still GC lead as Miek now places 3rd
Annemiek van Vleuten never ceases to amaze her fans
The great leader of the Movistar Team took her 10th victory of the 2021 season
and the Telefónica-backed squad’s 33rd success so far this year
as she made her favourite role count to win the stage two mountain TT of the Challenge by La Vuelta
a 7.3km time trial in Ourense’s Estación de Montaña de Manzaneda
The Olympic champion had to wait for almost one hour on the ‘hotseat’
today’s effort marking her first outing on the Canyon Speedmax since her victory in Tokyo a month ago
The 19’08” time from the Dutchwoman at the finish was almost one minute faster than team-mate Leah Thomas’ -the Californian would take a very nice 5th place-
3rd); and race leader and Swiss champion Marlen Reusser (ALE)
were able to even dream of closing in on Miek’s time
The Galician race is still two days away from Sunday’s finish in Santiago de Compostela
Saturday will see the peloton take on a very hilly stages three
featuring the categorized climbs of Cerdeira (Cat-3) and A Lama (Cat-2) and no flat in between
The perfect terrain to keep on battling…
and also winning this TT on my Canyon bike from Tokyo makes me extra happy
It’s been nice to catch up with my Tokyo bike after some really nice moments in japan
I ended up choosing the TT bike – we weren’t so sure
because it was a little bit as fast on the road bike as on the TT one
yet I picked the TT one because I’ve spent so many training rides on it
so I’m happy that choice ended up being a winning one
I already knew it would be really hard with Marlen Reusser
being in really good form and with a two-minute advance
I struggle when I have to use that defending attitude in stageraces
I’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow and lots to win
so we won’t give it as a present to Marlen Reusser
make things hard for her to win and offer a good show for people watching on TV tomorrow.”
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Gee’s teammate and compatriot Hugo Houle was ninth on Friday
The short chrono’s main feature was Cat
3 Alto de Sabadelle in the first half of the route
A downhill led to the finish in Pereiro de Aguiar
#OGC25 – Stage 3🚩 Ourense🏁 O Pereiro de Aguiar🚴🏻♂️ 15.5 Km ITT☁ Weather: Overcast clouds🌡️ 14°C (app 14°C
vis.: 100%💧 Hum.: 73%🌪️ Wind: 3.5 km/h NW (max: 5.7 km/h NNE)Route: https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/594937
— La Flamme Rouge (@la-flamme-rouge.eu) 2025-02-28T08:08:36.000Z
Houle was in the hot seat for a while with 24:01
he broke Davide Piganzoli’s best intermediate time at the top of Alto de Sabadelle with 14:32
Gee having cracked Davide Piganzoli’s 23:34 at the finish
tapping his watch as it he wanted a time check
The Uno-X Dane led Gee by 20 seconds at the beginning of the day
but he was 24 seconds slower in the time trial
Saturday’s latter half is very hilly and Gee’s five-second gap over Cort is precarious
Ceratizit Challenge by la Vuelta 2021 - Stage 1 Profie
Ceratizit Challenge by la Vuelta 2021 - Stage 2 Profile
Ceratizit Challenge by la Vuelta 2021 - Stage 3 Profile
Ceratizit Challenge by la Vuelta 2021 - Stage 4 Profile
Women's WorldTour race tackles two mid-mountain stages
running from September 2-5,with more of a terrain challenge
an uphill time trial and two mid-mountain stage
Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) won her second consecutive title during the 2020 edition of the race ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM).
Brennauer noted that it will be difficult for her to defend the title this year with the additional stage and more mountainous route that accompanies the move from Madrid to Galicia
with the finish at the capital of Santiago de Compostela
"It will be very different from the last two editions
It will be really difficult for me to win the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta for the third time because there will be stronger competitors than me in the uphill finishes and the uphill time trial
But I'm going anyway with a very positive mindset
The last stage may suit me and we will have a very strong team
It is possible that I ride in support of my partners," Brennauer said
Brennauer and Belgium's Jolien D'hoore are the only two riders to have won the race twice with Brennauer winning in 2019 and 2020 and D'hoore winning her back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017
Other champions include inaugural winner Shelley Olds and and 2018 winner Ellen van Dijk
Ceratizit Challenge by la Vuelta will offer fans live race coverage and post-race programmes across television broadcast and live streaming platforms
The race will be broadcast daily on Eurosport Player and Eurosport 1
You can sign up for a subscription to Eurosport Player for £6.99 / $9.26 for a month
£4.99 / $6.61 for a year-long monthly pass
or £39.99 / $52.99 for a 12-month pass
Coverage via the GCN Race Pass
Access in the UK will set you back £39.99 for a year
There's also an option to pay for the Race Pass month-by-month
although the year pass is much better value
Plans start from $12.50 per month or $150 per year
Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit-WNT) is the two-time defending champion having won overall titles in 2019 and 2020
who is certainly in contention to win a third consecutive title
even if there will be strong rivals on the start line
where she was a minute faster than her nearest rival
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and her teammate Brodie Chapman were forced to abandon the Simac Ladies Tour due to crashes but both return to racing in Spain
will favour both riders along with Italian Marta Cavalli
who recently finished 26th after an aggressive race at GP de Plouay
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) will join the team for the four-day race after her teammates raced GP de Plouay
with strong performances from Elise Chabbey and Alena Amialiusik
Niewiadoma's strength on the punchy climbs and in the time trial should play to her favour
Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) is fresh off of a win at GP de Plouay showing very strong form post-Oympic Games
The Italian will be a major contender for the overall win in Spain
particularly with a strong team to back her up that includes former winner Ellen van Dijk
Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) is back to Women's WorldTour racing after victories at Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa and the Ladies Tour of Norway
it will be an important late-season race for Van Vleuten
The mountain time trial will suit her skill set
and she has a powerful teammate in Leah Thomas to help secure the overall win
Kristen Faulkner (TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) has had strong late-season performances with a stage victory at the Ladies Tour of Norway where she finished third overall
Watch for her to race for the overall title in Spain
This year's race has expanded to four days of racing
and is the only Women's WordTour race held in September. The four stages will include two mid-mountain stages
a mountain time trial to the Cabeza de Manzaneda Ski Resort
and sprint finale in Santiago de Compostela
Stage 1 starts by descending from the Cabeza de Manzaneda Ski Resort and tackling the category 1 Alto da Portela mid-stage before an undulating approach followed by a descent to the finish in A Rúa
Stage 2 is potentially a GC decider with a 7.3km mountain time trial to Cabeza de Manzaneda Ski Resort
The event begins at 1,066 metres and climbs to 1,490 metres at the finish line where the winner could very likely take the overall race lead ahead of the final two stages
Stage 3 starts at the Cabeza de Manzaneda Ski Resort and covers 107.9km to Pereiro de Aguiar
The race includes two ascents at the category 3 Alto de Cerdeira (18.7km) and the category 2 Alto de A Lama (64.7km) with another undulating approach to the finish in Pereiro de Aguiar
The four-day race closes with 107.4km from As Pontes to Santiago de Compostela
a flatter day where an anticipated bunch sprint will take place at the historic Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science
She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006
Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy
race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.