Mike O'Connor
Australian climber Sarah Gigante will return to racing this week after more than a year away from competition following a serious femur fracture.
Gigante, 26, is on the start list for the four-day Faun Tour in France, which begins on Thursday. It will be her first race since she finished sixth overall at the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
Just over two weeks after that performance, Gigante crashed during training and fractured her femur. Her recovery was complicated by further problems with the surgical hardware, requiring a second operation and pushing back several planned comeback dates.
A return was initially targeted for March, before being moved to the Giro d’Italia in May. That was also abandoned as she underwent further surgery.
The Australian said last month that the recovery had been difficult, with two surgeries and months of rehabilitation.
“Two surgeries, countless hours of rehab, and more postponed comeback dates than I care to count,” Gigante wrote in an update marking a year since the crash.
She said it had been particularly difficult watching the sport continue while she missed all three Grand Tours.
“I’m just so happy to be riding pain-free again and loving it,” she said.
Gigante’s AG Insurance-Soudal team is taking a cautious approach to her return, with sporting director Dani Christmas saying there would be no pressure on the Australian at the Faun Tour.
“It’s been a long road back for her, and this is an important milestone in her recovery, so it’s only normal that she will start the race without any pressure,” Christmas said.
Gigante will race alongside Lore De Schepper, Justine Ghekiere, Emma Siegers, Urška Žigart and new signing Megan Arens.
The return comes after a strong 2025 season for Gigante, in which she won two stages and the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia Women before finishing third overall. She later placed sixth at the Tour de France Femmes.
Her return is also accompanied by some longer-term security, with Gigante extending her contract with AG Insurance-Soudal through the end of 2027.
“I’m very happy to be staying with The Wolfpack for another year,” Gigante said. “I’ve really enjoyed my time with AG Insurance-Soudal, and I’m incredibly grateful that the team has stuck by me through both the highs and lows of the last three years.”
Gigante is also expected to race the Tour of Bright in Australia in December, although her full schedule for the remainder of the season has not yet been confirmed.
Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.
