Ottawa-born professional cyclist Derek Gee finished an impressive ninth overall and sixth place in the final stage of the Tour de France on Sunday.
The 26-year-old rider from Osgoode made his Tour de France debut this year, finishing with a final time of 84:07:59 overall, 27 minutes over the first place winner.
He finished 47:55 in the invidual time trial on Sunday, placing 6th in the 21st and final stage.
Gee becomes the third Canadian to finish in the top ten of the tournament and the first to do so since 2010.
His overall time placed him 47 seconds behind American cyclist Matteo Jorgenson and just two minutes over Columbian rider Santiago Buitrago.
Gee posted an impressive run in the approximately 3,500-kilometre race across France. His highest finish placed him third in the tough 199-kilometre ninth stage of the race, which includes hills and 32 kilometres of gravel roads.
Gee will now head to the Paris Olympics where he will represent Team Canada. The Ottawa-born cyclist began competing in road cycling professionally in 2021 and since 2023 has been a member of the Israel-Premier Tech team alongside fellow Team Canada Olympians Michael Woods, Hugo Houle, and Guillaume Boivin.
On Sunday, Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France for the third time in Sunday’s final stage. The 25-year-old Slovenian rider also became the first cyclist to secure the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year since the late Marco Pantani in 1998.
The two-time defending champion Vingegaard of Denmark was second overall. He also finished the 21st and final stage in second place.
The Tour de France is considered to be among the most prestigious of the Grand Tours, which includes the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. It is among one of the most-watched sporting events in the world.
With files from The Associated Press