Gigante joins Australian squad for UCI Cycling Esports World Championships

Sarah Gigante has been named the 14th member of the Australian team set to contest the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships next weekend.

Sarah Gigante will contest the 2022 UCI Cycling Esports World Championships Source: Twitter

AusCycling announced Gigante’s inclusion days out from her long-awaited return to competition at the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic, having missed the Tour of Gippsland due to COVID-19.

The Movistar rider hasn’t raced since the Olympic Games last July, when a worrying heart condition – later revealed to be myopericarditis – left her sidelined for the remainder of 2021.

But now, the 21-year-old is ready to ride and will link up with her Australian teammates at the online event eager to improve on the silver medal she earned at the inaugural World Championships in 2020.

“It will be great to be able to do an important race on home soil – my lounge room is on home soil, after all – with fellow Australians before I jet over to Europe to commence my racing season with Team Movistar,” Gigante said.

Zwift, a video game that measures real-world exertions on stationary trainers, will host 180 of the world’s best competitors on the Knickerbocker Circuit, a selective course that includes three ascents of the New York KOM.

Gigante rounds out a strong team of Australian women this year, led by DS Kate Bates and boasting the likes of Bre Vine and Vicki Whitelaw, but is still expecting a tough time on the New York map.

“I’m expecting the competition to be very fierce, as virtual racing is growing so quickly and has already become a lot more professional in the last two years,” she added.

“I have been riding the Knickerbocker course quite a lot on Zwift in the last month, and it’s a harder course than what it looks like on paper – especially as we have to have our trainer difficulty set to 100 per cent.

“Our team is well-suited to climbs though, so I think the attrition that is likely to occur will play into our hands.”

The UCI Cycling Esports World Championships will take place on Saturday, February 26, with coverage beginning from 5:00am (AEDT) via SBS On Demand.

Team Australia

Men:

• Alex Bogna (QLD, Alpecin-Fenix Development Team)
• Ben Hill (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Sam Hill (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Freddy Ovett (VIC, L39ION of Los Angeles)
• Torben Partridge-Madsen (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Aiden Sinclair (NSW, Canyon Esports)
• Jay Vine (ACT, Alpecin-Fenix)

Women:

• Katie Banerjee (NSW, AERO Racing Team)
• Justine Barrow (VIC, AERO Racing Team)
• Neve Bradbury (VIC, Canyon-SRAM)
• Sarah Gigante (VIC, Movistar)
• Bre Vine (ACT, AERO Racing Team)
• Rachael Wales (QLD, AERO Racing Team)
• Vicki Whitelaw (ACT, Team Heino)