Sarah Gigante blog: I feel ready for the Vuelta Femenina

There’s just one day to go until my Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta Femenina and it’s both exciting and surreal at the same time.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been watching the Grand Tours from the sidelines and seeing them all get bigger and better. I’ve seen their status rise with each passing season, and now I finally have my own chance to line up. It’s a massive moment and opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to take it with both hands.

We arrived in sunny Valencia a couple of days ago, which was a little bit earlier than we’d normally arrive for a typical race and that already made the coming Vuelta feel like a really big deal. I have to admit that it’s also super nice being in short sleeves again, after the freezing cold and wet weather that we were treated to in Belgium during the recent Ardennes. On Friday afternoon, we even took a trip into the beautiful city to do some cool headshots for ASO, and little details like that are really getting me excited about the race. You can feel that it’s just around the corner and that the hype is high.

Read more: La Vuelta Femenina 2024 – essential race preview

Looking at the stage profiles, the parcours certainly gets harder as the race goes on, and I think I like that. I tend to train with quite high intensity and volume, so having the hard stages at the end, when everyone is tired, should suit me well. Of course, for now, my current focus is on the start of the Vuelta, not the end of it. We begin with a team time trial on Sunday afternoon, and although we’re a pretty inexperienced team in this discipline, our two training sessions together in Valencia have gone super well and actually exceeded everyone’s expectations.

We felt strong and smooth from the beginning, as though we’d done it many times before. I’ve only ever done one TTT in my professional career so I was initially feeling quite nervous for stage 1, but the training here has gone so well and been so fun that I’m now really looking forward to the shared pain this time around.

The big news that came out this morning is that, unfortunately, we’re starting the Vuelta without our pre-race leader Ashleigh Moolman. She’s fallen sick since the Ardennes, which is really disappointing for her and the whole team. Ash has been in amazing form lately and worked really hard in the build-up to the Vuelta. She even missed a lot of the Spring Classics in favour of an intense three-week altitude camp in Colombia. It’s such a huge shame, but we all know that she’ll be back stronger than ever, so now we just want to see her get back to full health and join us at the next race.

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It’s definitely a bit strange without her here, but we’re all going to give it our best shot anyway. I think there are a lot of opportunities for all seven of us. Personally, I just want to avoid losing time in the early stages and then see what I have in the mountains. It’s my first Grand Tour, and I have a lot of learning to do, but at the same time, I don’t see why we can’t go for a good result, both in the stages and in GC. We’ve got a strong team and I’m in great shape. There’s no pressure if it doesn't pan out, but there’s also no reason not to try.

Although my last race, LIège-Bastogne-Liège, was completely different to the Vuelta, my performance there gave me some confidence heading into this week. I was a bit nervous when my director Jolien D'hoore told me to attack on the very first climb, just 15km into the 150km race, but I came away happy that I managed to not only get away, but also stay away for most of the race. It didn’t end up leading to a top result, but it was nice to test my legs against some of the other riders who will be lining up here in Spain. I already knew that my training had been going well, but it’s never the same as when you line up in a race. In saying that, my performance at Liège made me even hungrier for some results at the finish line too, rather than just the many QOM prizes I collected!

After the Australian block back in January, I'd say the Vuelta is definitely my next peak in form and with that, also the next peak in my excitement. Even during the Ardennes Classics, I did two twenty-minute efforts the day after De Brabantse Pijl and two fifteen-minute efforts the day after La Flèche Wallone, in order to maintain my threshold power ahead of this next big race, so I feel ready. I still need to see how I back up after each day, and of course, it’s a huge disappointment not to have Ash with us, but the mood in the team is excellent nevertheless. We’re staying positive and I'm sure we’ll get as much out of the race as we can. There’s so much enthusiasm in the camp, from riders and staff alike, and we will take that commitment into the race. One day to go…I can’t wait to get started.

For everything you need to know about the 2024 Vuelta Femenina, from the key information to this year's route and start list, be sure to check out our dedicated race hub.