No matter how many knocks Sarah Gigante has had, there seems to be one thing that helps the Australian rider keep bouncing back – she just loves riding and racing her bike – and that is a big part of the reason she is heading into a new season with AG Insurance-Soudal instead of Movistar.
Gigante launched herself into the spotlight when she came straight out of the junior category to claim Australia’s elite women’s road race title in 2019 and then jumped up to the top-tier of teams in 2022, when she signed a three-year deal with Movistar. In December it was announced that the contract would be cut short, with the 23 year old rider heading to AG Insurance-Soudal for 2024 instead.
“Movistar was very supportive, especially because my years were so disrupted, so they were very very patient and I can’t thank them enough,” Gigante told Cyclingnews while in Adelaide for the Women’s Tour Down Under. “But it just wasn’t really the best fit for either of us, I think.
“I love the team but I just needed more race opportunities.”
Gigante has had a challenging first few years of her career, between the COVID-19 pandemic, injuries, and illness. For four seasons she looked to build experience with a race-filled European season, but every time it had been heavily curtailed.
So when Gigante rebuilt fitness and started racing again locally in Australia by mid-2023, after early season health issues, she was chomping at the bit to pin a number on in Europe with Movistar again. She lined up for her first race of the season with Movistar at the Tour of Scandinavia in August and that was it.
A stacked Movistar climbing squad meant Gigante wasn’t getting picked for races, instead being placed as a reserve, and that meant the much desired chance to improve her race craft wasn’t there, nor was the opportunity to test her form. She was extremely keen to do just that given that in training the all time personal bests were flowing.
“I was just hanging out,” said Gigante. “But I only got to do Scandinavia and then the thought of just not really knowing what race I could train up for next … particularly when I was so full of determination that I didn’t want to miss anything.”
The season was quickly coming close to its end, and with the sparse race calendar of 2023 came concerns that 2024 would bring another year of limited race opportunities. Gigante, at that point, happened to have a discussion with fellow Australian Anya Louw about her team AG Insurance-Soudal…
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