Urška Žigart is not among the starters at this year’s Tour de France Femmes, despite a strong top-10 finish at the Giro d’Italia Women and a clear trajectory as a climber. Her omission from AG Insurance-Soudal’s eight-rider line-up is one of the more notable absences from the 2025 race.
Žigart placed 9th overall at the Giro d’Italia Women earlier this month, finishing 7th on the summit finish to Monte Nerone and helping the team to the overall win in the team classification. Reflecting on the race afterwards, she said:
“It’s been a couple of days already, but I had to recover before I bring these out haha. Here’s the Giro in photos. What a team and what a race we had with AG Insurance-Soudal. 3rd in GC, 2 stage wins and a very fitting QOM jersey for our super climber Sarah Gigante, team classification and my little personal goal of finishing 9th in GC. I am very grateful for the opportunity, support and belief from everybody to get to be near the very top of one of the biggest races in our sport.”
She added that even without achieving her personal top-10 aim, it would have still been one of the nicest weeks of racing she’s been part of, praising the effort of the entire team, riders and staff alike.
AG Insurance-Soudal focused on other GC leaders
Despite Žigart’s good form and climbing profile, AG Insurance-Soudal already had plans to build the Tour team around Kim Le Court. The Mauritian rider had earned leadership status with strong results in 2024, including a Monument win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That decision was vindicated on stage 2 in Quimper, where she took the yellow jersey – becoming the first African rider to wear it.
The team’s plans shifted after Sarah Gigante delivered an amazing performance at the Giro. She won two stages, finished 3rd on GC, and took the QOM jersey – an all-round display that forced her way into the Tour selection, despite not being initially scheduled to ride.
In the official team announcement, sports manager Jolien D’hoore said:
Kim will be our rider for the general classification, but we will take it day by day and see how far we can get. She doesn’t have the experience of going for the overall, but it’s a nice challenge we’re all looking forward to.
The team will also feature Sarah, who comes here after an outstanding Giro d’Italia and can be at Kim’s side or go for her own chances, depending on how things unfold.
With Gigante and Le Court both offering GC potential and stage-winning capability, and Justine Ghekiere also returning as Belgian national champion, there was little room for a second climber with similar characteristics to Gigante. Žigart, despite 26 racing days this season and fifth overall at the Tour de Suisse, missed out.
She made a brief visit to the men’s Tour, not a mid-season break
Žigart was briefly at the men’s Tour de France on stage 16 to support her partner, Tadej Pogačar. But it was a short visit close to home in Monaco, not a sign of stepping away from competition. In fact, the attempt to visit became its own ordeal:
The police in France don’t know who I am, and I received a lot of criticism when I cycled up Mont Ventoux. And I don’t want to pretend I’m Tadej’s girlfriend. I told them I’m a professional too, but they didn’t believe me. How I got to the top is a story for my book.
She ended up walking much of the way on foot through the crowds before being taken to the top by UAE team staff.
Žigart still dreams of her own moment at the Tour
The decision to leave her out of the 2025 edition doesn’t change Žigart’s ambitions. She has made it clear that she wants to ride – and win – the Tour de France Femmes in the future:
Now that there’s a women’s edition in addition to the men’s Tour, girls also dream of riding it, wearing the yellow jersey, and winning a stage. If there’s a chance, I would love to wear that jersey for a day… Maybe I can get a good result next year; then the Tour de Femmes starts with many difficult mountain stages, and that’s my terrain.
With the route in 2026 likely to again suit the climbers, and Žigart continuing to develop with AG Insurance-Soudal, a return next summer is a strong possibility. But for now, her role is one of supporter from the sidelines, not one of the eight riders on the road in France.
