Sarah Gigante storms to sensational Giro d’Italia double

Australian climbing sensation Sarah Gigante has secured her second win of the Giro d’Italia Women with an impressive solo victory on the Queen stage.

Just days after claiming her first Giro victory on the uphill finish of stage 4 to Pianezze, the 24-year-old again stood on top of the podium after conquering the mountains of stage 7, proving she is the strongest climber at the year’s race.

Gigante (Ag Insurance-Soudal) made her move on the 150 kilometre stage with about 6 kilometres to the finish on the steeper sections of the Monte Nerone, a challenging 12-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 7.2%.

She quickly closed the one-minute gap to defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), who had attacked with 20 kilometres to go.

With 2.7 kilometres to the finish, Gigante launched her decisive attack on Longo Borghini who was unable to respond.

Gigante rode away to win the stage by 45 seconds over Longo Borghini and made up valuable time on general classification to move into third overall after losing time on stage 5.

"Two stage wins is an impressive result. Today I felt good — I had studied the final climb and decided to attack on the steep section. At the same time, I wanted to show that stage 4 wasn’t just a one-off, but that I came to Italy to achieve great results,” Gigante said.

"To win, I had to take risks — and that’s what I did.

“I knew she (Longo Borghini) was pretty tired after being out there for a while and I felt good, so I went for it. Although I was dying a thousand deaths on that last kilometre because it was so steep.”

Gigante now sits 1.11 minutes behind Maglia Rosa Longo Borghini, and just 49 seconds behind Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser (Movistar).

The 134km finale from Forlì to Imola is set to be a thrilling finale as the top three battle for overall victory.

“If I can come home with third place this week I’d be very happy,” Gigante said.

"Tomorrow is another tough stage. I remember watching the World Championships in Imola on TV — lots of ups and downs — but I’ll try to make the most of it and get closer to the Maglia Rosa."

Main image: LaPresse/Giro d'Italia Women