Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift mega-climber Sarah Gigante suffered disaster this week and broke her femur in a training ride.
The Aussie has already received successful surgery but is out for the remainder of the season after her brutal injury.
It’s a devastating blow for the 24-year-old, who was hotly tipped for September’s Kigali world championships.
Gigante and her AG Insurance-Soudal team broke the bad news Saturday morning.
“My short but sweet stint as Sarah 3.0 was pretty good, so I figured the next step was to level up to Sarah 4.0. I’m super disappointed to have broken my femur in training on Thursday (ouch). But the operation went very well and I’m already counting down until I can eventually ride again,” Gigante wrote on Instagram.
“I was so looking forward to hopefully representing Australia at a hilly world champs in Rwanda and to then finish off my season in Italy. But at least the four races I did this year were all great ones … and I sure know how to nail a comeback!
“For now, it’s time for some R & R and working on my mental resilience even more.”
‘Now begins her road to recovery’
This will be the second time in a year that Gigante has suffered a serious setback.
She was sidelined for eight months over the past winter and spring while she recovered from iliac artery surgery.
However, that long layoff didn’t stop her from blasting back to mark herself as the peloton’s ultimate pocket-rocket climber.
The 165cm speedgoat blazed to two mountaintop victories and finished third overall at the Giro d’Italia, and came within 24 hours of the podium at the Tour de France.
Gigante played superdomestique for Kim Le Court through the start of the Tour de France Femmes and climbed to second on the classification ahead of the final stage. She then slid to sixth after she was gapped in the key descent from the Col du Joux Plane.
Gigante’s AG Insurance-Soudal team hailed its star climber’s resilience Saturday.
“Tough news, Sarah Gigante suffered a broken femur in training. The surgery went well, and now begins her road to recovery,” the team wrote on X.
“Known for her fighting spirit, Sarah will face this challenge head-on, and the whole team will be by her side.”
View this post on Instagram