‘Two steps forward, three steps back gets old quickly’ – Another surgery for Sarah Gigante as racing return further delayed

The much anticipated return of Sarah Gigante to the women’s peloton will have to wait a little longer with the AG Insurance–Soudal rider, who proved just what a Grand Tour threat she could be last year, having had to undergo surgery once again.

The latest round of surgery was to resolve ongoing issues after the Australian broke her femur in training following the Tour de France Femmes, where she was second on the Col de la Madeleine stage and sixth overall.

“Thanks to the unwavering support of my team and some clever Belgian surgeons, we’ve finally worked out that my pain wasn’t coming from the fracture anymore, but rather from irritation related to the nail position and fit,” said Gigante in an Instagram post.

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It had been little surprise, given the seriousness of Gigante’s injury in August of 2025, when the rider wasn’t on the start line for the Australian season opening races. She had set her sights on a March season start instead, but it wasn’t to be.

“Unfortunately after good progress early on, since December I’ve felt more and more like a hamster in a wheel, trying my very best and working so hard but getting nowhere,” said Gigante. “Two steps forward, three steps back gets old quickly.”

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The rider could be spotted out on the road and on Strava logging big distances but first March came and went with no sign on the start line of the 25-year-old, who has had to cope with an interruption filled career. Then the Giro d’Italia, where she took two stage wins and third overall in 2025, also came and went. While Gigante was out on the bike, it wasn’t at the race which she had targeted.

“I could do long rides (and I am now apparently an endurance queen, as those who follow me on Strava may have noticed), but anything intense was a different, and very painful, story,” said Gigante.

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Now it also seems clear that the last Grand Tour of this season, the Tour de France Femmes at the start of August, is off the table as well.

“Some more time off, then some Zwift … and hopefully this femur story can finally be closed at last…and only revisited one day in my book,” said a joking Gigante.

The Melburnian, who rose to prominence when she clinched the elite Australian road race title in her first year out of the junior ranks, unfortunately has many tales of recovery to put into any future biography but the persistently positive rider also has a habit of coming back stronger each time around.

“It’s a shame Sarah 4.0 has taken so long to load, but this time we’ll get there,” she said.