A user equipment (UE), a base station, a baseband processor or other network device can operate to generate a sidelink (SL) communication by sensing an SL channel with a clear channel assessment (CCA) and configuring a gap length based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) and a cyclic prefix extension (CPE) with a CPE length. The CPE length and the gap length can be based on one or more conditions. The SL communication can then be transmitted in response to acquiring the SL channel.