Derek Gee-West ruled out of 'one-in-a-lifetime opportunity' at Montreal Worlds
Already absent from the time trial and the mixed relay, Gee-West will now miss the World Championships road race on Sunday due to the injuries he picked up in his crash at the GP de Montréal.
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Derek Gee-West will miss the World Championships road race on Sunday due to the rib injury he sustained in a crash at the recent Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.
The Lidl-Trek rider had struck an optimistic note about lining up in the road race even after he confirmed his absence from the time trial and mixed relay. On Tuesday, however, Cycling Canada announced that he would not race at the Montreal Worlds.
“I’m gutted to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent Canada at our home World Championships,” Gee-West said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, the recovery from the crash at GP Montreal hasn’t been fast enough to put me in a place where I can race properly or contribute to the team and justify taking a spot at the start. I’m still looking forward to experiencing the Worlds atmosphere in Montreal, but this time it’ll be from the other side of the fence.”
Gee-West will be replaced in the Canadian line-up by Guillaume Boivin of NSN. “I appreciate Derek’s honesty in the situation, I know it’s very hard for him pulling out of a home Worlds," said Boivin. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking to have a good race and represent Canada well on home turf.”
The Canadian squad also features Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Michael Leonard (EF Education-EasyPost), Pier-André Côté (NSN) and Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5), as well as Michael Woods, who lines up despite retiring from pro cycling last year.
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