Sarah Gigante to chase Willunga Hill Strava KoM in Richie Porte time trial

Tour Down Under winner Sarah Gigante will look to break her Willunga Hill Strava Queen of the Mountains on Saturday in a time trial against men’s record holder Richie Porte.

Gigante has held the best women’s time up Willunga Hill since 2021 and won the Tour Down Under stage there on Sunday, but block headwinds up the climb prevented her winning ascent from being a record-breaking one too.

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“When we drove to Adelaide, I said sorry but we've got to do a detour to Willunga, because I need to get a photo with the sign,” Gigante said, explaining how she wanted evidence of the record she expected to be broken in Sunday’s race.

“But I don't think anyone took it because we had a massive block headwind, even though I did better power, and power to weight than last time.”

However, the 23-year-old isn’t giving up on her hopes of breaking her own record, and will take part in a time trial next weekend, with the public and pros pitting themselves against Richie Porte and his time.

“I'm coming back on Saturday, for a new attempt. There's a Willunga time trial, against Richie. He's retired but I'm not, so look out,” the confident Australian said on Sunday.

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Despite the headwind conditions, Gigante completed the climb in 9:02, which would sit as the second-fastest time on Strava, but not quite enough to beat her record 8:13 time.

In Saturday’s time trial, Gigante will be looking to better her time, and also beat the so-called King of Willunga, who will be heading off the start line last to see what time he can set now 13 months into retirement.

As well as beating Porte on the day, Gigante may also have dreams of one day beating the retired rider’s all-time record, as she joked about over the weekend.

“The only time I talked to Richie was in the elevator after we both won up Willunga a few years ago. He said ‘well done’ and I said ‘thanks, but I’m a bit sad I didn’t beat your time’,” Gigante told GCN ahead of stage 3. “He just looked at me like I was a bit crazy.”

It may have been crazy then, for the precocious 20-year-old, but she’s now got a Willunga Hill and Tour Down Under victory of her own under her belt, and is clearly on flying form. As Gigante said, Porte and the Strava QoM should look out.