Gee-West ruled out of Worlds time trial and mixed relay with rib injury

Derek Gee-West will miss the individual time trial and the mixed team relay at the World Championships in Montréal after breaking ribs in a crash at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sunday.

The Lidl-Trek rider confirmed the injury on social media, saying he intends to start the road race on 27 September.

"Unfortunately, the ribs didn't make it out of the crash on Sunday in one piece, so I won't be lining up for the individual time trial or the mixed team relay," he said on Instagram. "I'll do everything I can to line up next Sunday for the road race in the best shape possible in front of the home crowd."

The time trial opens the championships on Sunday, with the mixed relay following on Wednesday. Both take place on a 39.9km course through the city, taking in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Parc Jean-Drapeau before crossing the Concorde Bridge and finishing on Avenue du Parc.

It is a significant loss for the host nation. Canada have not had a rider finish higher than 15th at either Canadian one-day race in recent years, with Hugo Houle 44th at Québec last year and Guillaume Boivin the best finisher in Montréal across three of the four previous editions.

The road race on 27 September covers 273.2km with around 3,800 metres of climbing, starting in Brossard before sixteen laps of the Mount Royal circuit. It is the first time Montréal has hosted the World Championships since 1974, when Eddy Merckx and Geneviève Gambillon won the first edition held outside Europe.

"I can't wait to see the Canadians rip it up across the rest of the events," Gee-West said.