'Night and day': cycling star to return after surgery
Iliac artery endofibrosis - it's a mouthful, and a medical condition that has become a significant issue in professional cycling.
Australian star Sarah Gigante will finally head to her European base in Girona, Spain, on Thursday to belatedly start the season, having undergone major surgery in December to fix the problem.
The 24-year-old is among several top-level riders, including compatriot Amanda Spratt, who have needed the operation that has saved their careers.
"It's going really well. It (the surgery) just made such a huge difference - night and day - with my pain, but also my power," Gigante told AAP.
The iliac arteries run through the pelvis. The condition happens when high blood flow and repetitive hip flexion cause the artery to narrow.
Even in professional cycling, where a broken collarbone is seen as an occupational hazard, having this operation is a major step.
"It's not like a plated collarbone. For sure, in that first month they told me I had to be really careful, not to raise my heart rate, my blood pressure," Gigante said.
"For once, I listened to the doctor ... this one, I was good."
Gigante's recovery has gone better than expected and she hopes to ride in July and August at the women's Giro d'Italia, then the Tour de France.
The AG Insurance-Soudal rider was seventh overall last year at the Tour, adding to her formidable career.
While the surgery was the latest in a series of injury and health setbacks for Gigante over the past few years, she is a phenomenal talent.
Gigante won last year's Tour Down Under in Adelaide and has snared three senior national road titles. The Tokyo Olympian was a star attraction on Tuesday when the annual Around The Bay In A Day community ride was launched in Melbourne.
Her setbacks have also taught Gigante resilience.
"I feel like I've had enough setbacks and bad luck for a while. It doesn't work like that, but fingers crossed," she said.
"If I'd found out I needed the surgery, like, three years ago then I wouldn't have been able to deal with it as well as I did.
"I didn't like the news - it was a big blow and a huge surprise. I was still trying to train, through pain, for the Tour Down Under.
"Just to get told suddenly 'oh, no, you need to have six months off the bike, we don't know what the rehab will look like' - that was a huge shock.
"Pretty quickly, within a couple of days, I'd already turned it into a positive - 'I'm going to come back stronger, now I will have two legs, not one and a quarter'."
For now, Gigante is setting no goals. She will be happy just to race again.
"I wasn't expecting to return to Europe for another month or so, but maybe two and a half months ago I was already getting better power than at my best last year," she said.
"At this stage, just being back in the peloton will be a huge win, pinning on numbers again - I just can't wait to have that feeling again and being with my teammates, working towards a shared goal."
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Martin Flanagan
Martin Flanagan is a journalist and author who writes on sport, Australian culture and the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.
