Sarah Gigante announced on social media that she will be sidelined for several months after a successful operation to treat iliac artery extension. The former Australian Road champion and 2-time Australian time trial champion will miss the opportunity to chase the national title and will also defend her overall victory in the Women's tour of 1 Month down under.

After suffering pain in her right foot, Gigante, 24, was diagnosed with intrauterine fibrosis on Monday, 12/2, during her stay in Australia.

"Coming in the Australian summer is usually my favorite time of the year, but this time it was a real struggle for me mentally and physically," writes AG Insurance-Soudal rider.

"For a long time I had a dull pain at rest in my right foot, which increased to a short numbness at the maximum intensity of the bike, and since returning to Australia, any lai my entire leg, especially my quad, felt like it was on fire, even when riding very slowly."

"I didn't know the reason for this and wanted to defend my tour under the title and give myself every chance of doing well at the National TT Championship, so I kept trying to do endurance rides while we were looking for muscle and nerve-related causes. My motivation was still sky-high and I was still hoping to recover from my mysterious injury and be able to get back on track, adding weeks of strength."Gigante finished the European road season at the 9th World Championships and after being added at the 10th UCI Gravel World Championships, he returned to Australia and again took the 11-9 140km distance of the Dartywarni on 2nd place. She, however, did not line up to defend her title on Bright's tour earlier this month, for now obvious reasons.

"Sadly, the problem was much more serious than we expected. Ultrasonography before and after cycling and several blood pressure tests revealed that the arteries were severely narrowed during exercise, limiting blood flow to the legs. The pain I was feeling was that my poor muscles were screaming for oxygen.

Gigante's team AG Insurance–Soudal said the surgery went well and the rider was ready to start rehabilitation and could "count on the support of the Victorian Sports Institute during his recovery."

Gigante joined AG Insurance–Soudal at the start of the season after leaving his contract with Movistar after 2 tough seasons. She quickly gained success and took her first female WorldTour stage victory on the way to an overall victory in the Tour Down Under. After that, she finished 7th in her debut Tour de France Femme.  10, the team announced a 2-year contract extension. 

Since launching into the cycling scene and grasping the title of the Elite National Road as an 18-year-old, Gigante has had to overcome a series of challenges, including injuries, illness and more, but has repeatedly claw her way back into impressive form and that's what she's trying to do again. "I will come back stronger – having two fully functioning legs will make a big difference," Gigante said in a statement to Team Media.