Sarah Gigante: I'm in the best form I've ever had ahead of Tour Down Under

Australian rider determined to make up for nationals bad luck with Willunga Hill firmly in her focus

11:08, Tuesday 9th January 2024

Daniel Benson

Editor in Chief

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Sarah Gigante makes a quick stop at the summit of Willunga Hill to check out her Strava record

Sarah Gigante’s results at the Australian national championships only told half of the story, with the 23-year-old finishing outside the top five in both the time trial and the road race, but as she tells GCN, her form is better than ever ahead of the Santos Tour Down Under.

It’s been an eventful few weeks for the Australian rider. In December she annulled her contract with Movistar and signed for AG Insurance-Soudal Team in a move few people saw coming.

Then she rocked up at nationals as a force to be reckoned with but a disastrously timed mechanical just minutes before the elite women’s time trial robbed her of a possible title and relegated her to ninth. In the road race, she fought valiantly against the numerically superior Liv AlUla Jayco squad before finishing 11th. But her confidence remains sky high ahead of her first WorldTour race of the year and a return to Willunga Hill, where she won in 2021 and still holds the Strava QOM.

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“I’m super happy with where my form is at. I’m probably in the best form I’ve ever had, after a few hard years, so it feels really good to be back. So even though I didn’t get a result at nationals, where I had a lot of bad luck, I’m feeling confident, and I’m feeling happy,” she told GCN after her Tuesday training ride in the Adelaide hills.

Although Gigante has only recently joined AG Insurance-Soudal Team, she has immediately made the team her new home. The entire Tour Down Under squad is now in Adelaide ahead of Friday’s first stage, and while team tactics for the race haven’t been discussed, the vibe within the group is already positive.

“I’ve come into the year with a great team around me. I’m more full of determination than ever. I’m loving the new team. I’ve just met loads of new staff and riders in the last 24 hours and everyone has been so welcoming. I knew I felt a real connection today when we got to the end of our ride today and we’d done 99.2km. It wasn’t even me who suggested riding around the block first, and that was the moment when I knew it was the right team.”

Gigante’s recent form, however, should come as no surprise. She has battled back from numerous setbacks in the last few years but most of 2023 was spent building back her fitness and returning to race-ready condition.

She has enjoyed a stress-free winter and returned to her roots by linking up with her previous coach, Dylan Lindsey, and if she can avoid any more bad luck she will be one of the favourites for Tour Down Under.

“I’ve been able to train really hard since March or April last year. I just didn’t really get an opportunity to race. I was pretty unfit, so had to build my fitness back but then in September I already knew that I was doing well because I started getting all-time PBs, which I hadn’t had in years. With the change in team, I also changed back to my old coach. It’s been fabulous, because we knew what it took for me to get where I was in 2021, and now we’re back and even better.”

A major talent since her junior days, Gigante also took a breakthrough win on Willunga Hill back in 2021. Back then the summit formed part of the Santos Festival of Cycling, a spin-off replacement from the Tour Down Under due to COVID restrictions, but she set the fastest time ever recorded for a female athlete on the accent and closed out the overall title a day later. She has nothing but fond memories of the climb and it will play a crucial part in this year’s race having been introduced to the women’s Tour Down Under for the very first time.

“I’m really excited. I have awesome memories. I’ve only stayed in the Hilton in Adelaide once and it was for that race. We raced on Willunga and it was a dream come true racing up there after seeing the men do it for all those years,” she said.

“There’s a sign at the top of the climb that shows the KOM and QOM so last time I wanted to win the race but I also wanted a good Strava time so I attacked right from the bottom. Then on the way to Adelaide yesterday I made sure that we did a detour so I could do my recovery ride and get a photo with the sign."

Sarah Gigante would love to emerge victorious atop Willunga Hill once more, three years on from her Santos Festival of Cycling performance

Before getting to Willunga the highly-rated climber will need to traverse two tricky road stages. The chances of breakaways sneaking away, the threat of bad luck and the competitive nature of racing for time bonuses can all play significant features in the race but Gigante and her team are determined to make up for the lack of results at nationals and leave their mark on Adelaide.

“I’m hoping for a really strong start riding for AG Insurance-Soudal Team. I’m proud of how I rode at nationals. I gave it everything and stayed cool in the time trial but those results weren’t what I came for. We’ve not talked about racing tactics for Tour Down Under but we want to be a team that comes away with a few stage wins,” Gigante said.

“The first two stages, especially the first one, that’s going to be about getting through it and not putting a foot too out of place. I think the second stage could suit us quite well. It’s hillier than I was expecting and I remember it from 2020 being a reduced bunch sprint but it’s definitely stage 3 that I’m really excited for.”

European return

While the main focus is on the Tour Down Under and the immediate target of Willunga Hill, Gigante also has one eye on her return to Europe. She only raced sporadically last season but with her health in check, the Australian is keen on returning to the continent and testing herself against the best riders in the world and on some of the most iconic races in the calendar.

Maybe I’ll start at Strade Bianche or Trofeo Alfredo Binda. They’d be super cool races to do. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more races, and hopefully some hilly ones. I hope I can squeeze a 40km time trial in there somewhere too because I trained so far for nationals. I want to put that to good use. I’m looking forward to learning from all my teammates, especially Ashleigh Moolman. Hopefully, I can be her sidekick in the hills,” she said.

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Finally, there is talk of a possible Grand Tour debut but those discussions probably won’t come into focus until Gigante has crested Willunga Hill on Sunday, and by then that sign might need updating.

“I’d absolutely love to race a Grand Tour. It’s not happened yet. We’ll have to see but I’m definitely crossing my fingers.”