Sarah Gigante will remain with AG Insurance-Soudal through the end of 2027 after signing a one-year contract extension with the Belgian team.
The timing gives the 25-year-old Australian some welcome security before she returns to racing at the Faun Tour on Thursday, ending a 403-day absence following the fractured femur she suffered in a training crash after the 2025 Tour de France Femmes.
Gigante has not raced at all in 2026 after a recovery that became considerably more complicated than initially expected. Her comeback was postponed several times before a second operation this summer addressed persistent pain around the surgical hardware in her leg.
AG Insurance-Soudal have nevertheless committed to Gigante for another season before she has had the opportunity to demonstrate what level she can immediately reach on her return.
For a rider who finished third at the Giro d’Italia Women and sixth at the Tour de France Femmes immediately before the injury, the decision is based on considerably more than potential.
Gigante gets another full season beyond her comeback
Gigante’s existing contract ran through the end of 2026, meaning the extension keeps her with AG Insurance-Soudal for a fourth season in 2027.
That matters after effectively losing an entire year to rehabilitation.
Rather than returning this week with the final months of a contract hanging over her, Gigante has another complete season in which to work back towards the level she reached during the summer of 2025.
ProCyclingUK looked in detail this week at Gigante’s long road back and her planned return at the Faun Tour, where the team have deliberately placed no performance expectations on her.
Sportive manager Jolien D’hoore said the extension reflected both Gigante’s ability and her place within the wider group.
“Sarah is an important part of the group we are building within AG Insurance-Soudal. Beyond her qualities as a rider, she brings a strong commitment to the team and contributes positively to our collective spirit.”
“We are therefore very pleased to continue our collaboration for another season and are confident that Sarah will remain an important contributor to our ambitions and our continued evolution as a team.”
Willunga Hill delivered an immediate return for AG Insurance-Soudal
Gigante joined AG Insurance-Soudal for the 2024 season after two years with Movistar and needed little time to deliver her first major result for the team.
She attacked on Willunga Hill to win the final stage of the Women’s Tour Down Under and secure the overall classification.
The Willunga Hill victory was Gigante’s first Women’s WorldTour win and immediately justified the team’s decision to give her a fresh start after several disrupted seasons.
The remainder of 2024 was more difficult.
Gigante struggled with a problem that was eventually diagnosed as iliac artery endofibrosis, restricting blood flow to her leg under load. She underwent surgery that December, with ProCyclingUK covering the operation and the explanation it finally provided for her difficulties.
That rehabilitation kept her out until the end of May 2025.
The results that followed made the wait worthwhile.
Two Giro wins turned Gigante into a genuine Grand Tour contender
Gigante returned to racing at the Tour of Norway only six weeks before the Giro d’Italia Women.
By July, she was producing the best racing of her professional career.
Gigante won the summit finish at Pianezze before delivering an even stronger performance on Monte Nerone three days later. She attacked from the GC group, caught Elisa Longo Borghini and then rode away to take her second victory of the race.
Her Monte Nerone win moved her onto the overall podium.
Gigante eventually finished third in the Giro and won the mountains classification, establishing herself as much more than an occasional climbing threat.
She had demonstrated that she could remain in contention across an entire Grand Tour.
The Tour confirmed the Giro was not a one-off
Gigante carried that form into the Tour de France Femmes.
Her strongest ride came on the Col de la Madeleine, where she finished second behind Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and moved to second overall.
Justine Ghekiere and Kim Le Court-Pienaar played important support roles on the stage, with ProCyclingUK looking at how Gigante climbed into a podium position with their help.
Gigante began the final stage second on GC and seemingly on course for the biggest result of her career.
Instead, the technical descent from the Col de Joux Plane exposed one of her weaknesses. She lost contact with the other contenders, became isolated and eventually slipped to sixth overall.
Our report on Gigante’s difficult final Tour stage covered a disappointing conclusion without disguising the significance of what had come before it.
Third at the Giro and sixth at the Tour represented a substantial step forward.
Less than two weeks later, her season was over.
Femur fracture turned 2026 into another rehabilitation year
Gigante fractured her femur in a training crash in August 2025 and underwent surgery shortly afterwards.
ProCyclingUK reported at the time that the broken femur had brought her breakthrough season to an abrupt end.
Her initial recovery appeared to progress reasonably well.
By January she was back riding in the mountains around Bright and discussing a possible March return. The target was always tentative, but Gigante’s return to mountain training suggested the worst of the rehabilitation might be behind her.
Instead, harder efforts continued to cause pain.
March passed without a race. La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro followed. Eventually, further investigation identified irritation related to the surgical nail in her femur and another operation was required.
The Faun Tour, starting on Thursday 10 September, will finally end the absence.
Gigante will return without pressure
The four-day French race contains more than 7,000 metres of climbing, terrain that would normally make a fully fit Gigante one of the obvious riders to watch.
AG Insurance-Soudal are approaching it very differently.
The objective is to let her become accustomed to racing again after more than a year away. Peloton positioning, repeated accelerations, descending in a group and recovering between stages all need to become normal again before results become the priority.
The extension through 2027 gives that process more room.
There is no need for Gigante to prove during one four-day race that the rider who finished on the Giro podium has immediately returned.
Gigante believes there is still more to come
Gigante said the support she has received during both successful and difficult periods played a major part in her decision to stay.
“I’m very happy to be staying with The Wolfpack for another year. 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.”
She also believes there is still considerable development available despite already having a Grand Tour podium on her record.
“I’m confident that I still have a lot of room to grow in such a supportive and ambitious environment, and I can’t wait to continue that journey alongside the riders and staff, whom I have so much respect for.”
That is the most interesting part of the extension.
Gigante is still only 25. Her best season included two Giro mountain wins, a Grand Tour podium and sixth at the Tour despite arriving at the start only two months after returning from iliac artery surgery.
Her career has rarely lacked evidence of what she can do when healthy. Finding a long enough uninterrupted period to build on it has been much harder.
AG Insurance-Soudal have now ensured she will have at least another full season to try.
