One year since her femur injury, Sarah Gigante is finally "counting down the days" till her competition return
Cycling
Sarah Gigante built herself the reputation of one of the best climbers in the women's peloton, having third overall at Giro d'Italia Women and 7th at Tour de France Femmes in 2025. But the next step - to fight for overall title - has been postponed by a year. Not by choice; Gigante suffered a femur fracture in a training crash.
Since then, the AG Insurance - Soudal rider has been out of competition for over a year now. During that period, her recovery progressed massively and soon, we should expect the 25-year-old Australian pin on the racing numbers.
"Today marks 365 days since I broke my femur," Gigante begins her Instagram story. "Two surgeries, countless hours of rehab, and more postponed comeback dates than I care to count later… it’s been a pretty rough year. January became February, February became spring, and spring became summer."
"Watching the sport I love so much carry on without me and missing all three Grand Tours was hard, and wondering when and how I’d actually be able to race again, or when I’d finally stop limping, was harder."
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Through all the hardships, Gigante is extremely grateful for all the support she has received. "Thankfully, I’ve been incredibly lucky to have the most amazing people around me, who love me for more than what I can do on a bike. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly explain how much that has meant to me this year."
"I’m just so happy to be riding pain-free again and loving it, and now counting down the days until I race again!"
Sarah Gigante
Two months for return
The season is already coming to a close, but there are still several opportunities for Gigante at least regain a race rhythm. The Australian could be eyeing the Faun Classic Femmes, or some of the late-autumn Italian one-day races for her return, once she's ready.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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