Sarah Gigante Interview

How long were you away from World Tour racing?

Ten months, from the Tour de Romandie early last September until Tour de Suisse in June.

During your rehab from surgery we read you dislocated a shoulder, can you tell us more?

Yeah, I had a nasty accident and unfortunately dislocated my right shoulder quite badly. 

The initial pain was severe, but thankfully, after a few days it was already manageable and didn’t really affect my training too much, apart from that I had to ride inside on Zwift for a full four weeks and of course adjust my gym exercises so that I didn’t need to use my arms. 

I was still doing over 20 hours per week on the ergo, and even managed multiple 6-hour pace partner rides, so I came out of this month even fitter than I started it.

Then to finally race WorldTour and wear that Red QOM Jersey at the Tour de Suisse– can you tell us about the significance of this?

It was quite a nice surprise to be feeling so strong. I didn’t think I would stack up against the best riders as well as I did, since I finished last season struggling with my leg and my power quite a lot, which meant my confidence in even my climbing took quite a hit. 

Although I saw my numbers were good in training this year, I still didn’t really know what to expect after the operation when it came to racing against riders like Vollering and Reusser. 

Wearing that red QOM jersey on Stage 2 was also my first time wearing a special jersey in a UCI race, so it was a cool bonus even though our main focus was on a good GC result for the team.

The main thing is you’re back, but it will still be a big step to line up for the Women’s Giro or Tour de France femmes – can you tell us if this is looking likely?

 My next focus is the Giro, which has a more favourable course for me and is a race at which I’m very excited to debut. 

However, even though I don’t like the parcours quite as much at the Tour this year, it is such a special occasion for every rider, and I really enjoyed my time there in 2024. 

I do love the look of Stage 8 and certainly hope I can line up in the squad. My teammate Kim Le Court has been flying this year and I’m sure she will have top form there, and is going in as our leader.

When you think about the next few years, what are your main career goals?

I would say that I don’t actually have one main career focus and instead prefer to focus on each opportunity I’m given, whether it’s at the Tour Down Under, Tour de Suisse, the Giro or Tour de France. 

However, in saying that, the Olympics, World Championships and Tour de France Femmes are the three races that mean the most to me in terms of both prestige and being able to fulfil my childhood dreams.

Talking about the TDF Femmes, at a recent event we attended Matthew Keenan said ‘Sarah Gigante is the most likely Aussie to win the yellow jersey at the Tour’ – your comments?

That is very nice of Matt! There are lots of amazing Australian riders so I think it’s an exciting time to be a fan. To have the yellow jersey on the shoulders of any Australian would be incredibly special, so I hope that it happens soon.

Yours has been the most extraordinary career, and it’s still very early days – what is your primary goal, what would you like your palmares to include in say 5 years?

My primary goals are to keep growing as a rider and a person, while retaining and sharing my love for the sport. 

Any further comments for Bicycle Network members and your supporters back home?

Thanks for all the support and for following along! I really appreciate the cheering and late nights from the Aussies back home.

Sarah Gigante is back at the top-level of the sport, recently racing the Tour of Switzerland and now the women’s Giro. Image: AG Insurance Soudal.