‘I knew it was coming’ - Sarah Gigante completes emotional comeback with Tour Down Under victory

After two years of difficulty, the Australian rising star has found new life with AG Insurance-Soudal and a return to form

22:00, Sunday 14th January 2024

Matilda Price

Racing News Editor

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Sarah Gigante's Willunga Hill victory also earnt her the overall Tour Down Under title

Winning a WorldTour race is a huge moment for any young rider, especially if you get to do it on home soil and on an iconic final climb, but for Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), whose promising career has been blighted by illness and injury, her comeback women's Tour Down Under victory was on a level above special.

After her Australian national titles and strong climbing performances saw a young Sarah Gigante tipped for greatness back in 2020 and 2021, her start to professional life in Europe with TIBCO-SVB and Movistar was difficult, plagued by health problems and a lack of racing that stopped her from showing her best shape.

On Sunday, however, the 23-year-old triumphed atop Willunga Hill in dominant fashion, delivering on all that promise she showed, and reaffirming her status as the next best thing to come out of Australia.

“It means everything to me,” an emotional Gigante told the press at the finish of the Tour Down Under.

“I was really hoping to come out and show I was back at nationals, but with my bad luck in the time trial [I couldn’t]. I was proud of my road race but I was unable to get a result, so to come here and have such amazing support… My team believed in me even when I was struggling. It means so much to me, to come back full circle after winning here three years ago, and since then, so many things went wrong. Now I'm back and I'm so happy.”

After a difficult two years on Movistar, Gigante broke her contract with the Spanish squad and signed for AG Insurance-Soudal, the former U23 team heading into their first season in the Women's WorldTour.

Gigante’s success in her first race with her new team seems to be a matter of both correlation and causation: she’s had full commitment and impressive support from her team here in Australia, but the move also came at a time when the 23-year-old knew she was coming back to form.

“In September I knew I was back, I just didn't have any chance to show it,” she said. “I was so determined, my coach and I knew it was coming, we just had to keep believing and keep training. I worked so hard for this, I'm so grateful for everyone who believed in me.”

That belief, against a tide of doubt that Gigante said made her think she may be “washed up” is what kept the Melbourne native going, and ultimately came to fruition on Willunga Hill.

“Sometimes just believing in myself was the best part. Last year, I only had one race the whole year. Just keeping going, going out there every single day, I didn't miss a training session. I always believed in myself and I listened to the people that did. That's what I'm most proud of.”

Willunga Hill experience pays off

Though this is the first time Willunga Hill has featured in the women’s Tour Down Under, it’s not the first time Sarah Gigante has raced up it, having won here during the Covid-altered Santos Festival of Cycling in 2021.

That experience - and the confidence gained from watching that win back - paid off when she took the ascent on again on Sunday.

“Originally, the team was saying go later, go where Richie [Porte] goes, but I said no, I wanted to go from the bottom and I believe I can do it,” Gigante explained.

Sarah Gigante left nothing on the road as she attacked into the headwind on Willunga Hill

“We just knew the steepest part was at the bottom, and a longer effort suits me, and I believe I can do it. I went from the very bottom, my teammates helped me coming into the final as well. I was out of position, but Ally Wollaston dragged me back to the front, and then Trek made it hard, which was good. As soon as the road went upwards I went.

“Yesterday afternoon I watched a replay of when I won last time at the Festival of Cycling, for a bit of a confidence boost, and I thought I'll just do that again. It was harder this time, I looked behind after maybe a minute and I couldn't see how many girls were behind me because I was going full gas, but there were quite a few, and I thought ‘uh oh, what if it's a sprint’. I knew I had to keep drilling it, despite the headwind, despite everyone sitting on and slowly one by one they dropped off.

“I could hear all my teammates and my DS screaming 'go Sarah, go Sarah', and I knew I had to just do it for them.”

What next for Gigante? Well, despite her success here and the buzz that will undoubtedly resurface around the young Australian, she’s hesitant to pin down the rest of her goals for the season, instead taking the time to focus on this win she’s waited so long for.

“I'm so happy, for now I'm just going to celebrate,” she said. “Especially when I didn't race for a while, when I was injured or sick, I thought that with my old wins I moved on straight away and didn't appreciate them enough, so I think I'm just going to be happy with this.

“No matter what, I'm going to be happy for 2024.”