‘I was dreaming of winning’ – Gigante shines on Tour queen stage despite online abuse

Saturday brought a momentous ride from Sarah Gigante. Though she only managed to finish second on the queen stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the AG Insurance-Soudal rider’s performance on the Col de la Madeleine went some way to turning the women’s peloton on its head. 

But not quite. The Australian climber made the first move on the climb, out of the saddle simply riding her rivals off her wheel. Those she dropped were those we’ve come used to winning all the biggest races. Last year’s Tour de France Femmes winner, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM-zondacrpyto) was left floundering. Victor the year before, Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) was nowhere to be seen. And former world and Olympic champion, four time Giro winner, Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) had already been dropped.

Only Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix-Deceuninck) was left, though even she wilted under Gigante’s pressure. Just one of the European old-guard remained. As the AG Insurance tactical plan played out, Justine Ghekiere dropping from the breakaway, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot sat on the Australian’s wheel, and when Ghekiere was gone, the French woman played her own tactical joker, her Visma | Lease a Bike team mate, Marion Bunel leading the way.

And when Bunel had finished her effort Ferrand-Prévot just rode off, winning the stage with an immense show of strength by 1:45. Most had expected Gigante would challenge, but in the end she came up just short. 

“I was definitely dreaming of winning the stage,” Gigante said through her tears afterwards. “And my team worked so hard for me, but I’m happy with second. Pauline was just stronger, I haven’t seen her, but I have to say good job Pauline.”

We've become used to riders almost routinely thanking their team mates, but Gigante's appreciation was stated through gasps of emotion, suggesting only those who compete at the highest level know the real importance of team work is in cycling.

“The other teams were putting us under pressure, me under pressure on the descents,” she admitted. “But thanks to the team work of every single rider I was able to get to the base of the mountain with the group and feeling quite fresh.

“And then, oh my gosh, to have the yellow jersey sacrificing herself for me, that’s next level. That’s the kind of thing that gives you goose bumps.”

The other GC teams knew she was a huge threat on the final climb but also that she struggles with descending, so threw verything at her on all three descents. However, team mate Kim Le Court, who started the day in yellow, was always there to help, even after crashing on one of the downhill sections.

“She chose to change the plan and wait for me, even before she crashed, she went back to the car and then I noticed she was moving me up and waiting for me on the descent. That’s really special,” Gigante said

While this year has been Gigante’s big breakthrough season, it started as so many before, with her recovering from injury, this time iliac artery surgery. But last month, at the Giro d’Italia Women she won two mountain stages and finished third on GC, she could even have won had she not been poorly positioned in crosswinds on stage five, losing 1.42. 

“In January I couldn’t even ride my bike at all, I was just watching and I didn’t know if the surgery would work. and then I just slowly got more confident. In the Giro I realised I was actually pretty strong, but obviously I have so much work to do on the descents.

That vulnerability hasn’t gone unnoticed - least of all online. "I get a lot of mean messages, even if I try not to look, people message me and comment on stuff. I mean, maybe I'm not the best at descending, but to come second here is pretty cool."