There was reason to be pleased with not one, but several Australians' efforts at the front of the field in the women's elite race in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Grace Brown (FDJ-Suez) deservedly stole the limelight with her impressive victory, but AG Insurance-Sudar's Sarah Gigante's long solo stint early in the race was another delight. [A terrible crash at La Flèche Wallonne in 2021 unexpectedly delayed her debut in her signature race by three years.

So it should come as no surprise that the irrepressible Australian was not going to sit back and pass up this opportunity when her original plan of an early attack worked in one sense and not in another. 153 km of racing With 135 km to go in the race, Gigante escaped from the peloton as expected, but without his companions.

"I had planned to escape with a small group, but in the end it was just me, so I decided to seize the opportunity," he said. I had very little experience in European breakaways, so I took advantage of the gap and pushed on alone for 60km, hoping that others would join me, but none did."

Therefore, Gigante went into time trial mode and rode alone to gain over 3 minutes. Eventually, a small group, including winner Brown, joined the third-year WorldTour professional, whose injuries, health, and circumstances have limited his racing opportunities in Europe. However, the addition of fresh legs from the chase group did not break the solo attacker in the early stages of the race.

"The encouragement from the crowd, including fans from other teams, was overwhelming," Gigante said of his day at the front of the race.

"At the Col du Rosier, eight riders joined me and I rode with them to La Redoute, but at the top I lost contact with them.

"My legs were about to explode, but I kept fighting. I ended up in the chase group and finally caught up with the peloton on the last climb."

In the end, Gigante, who moved from Movistar to AG Insurance Soudal earlier this season, finished 44th. Perhaps not the most impressive number on the results sheet, but an unforgettable experience.

"I'm exhausted, but I'm satisfied," was Gigante's comment today. "It was definitely the best race I have raced in Europe. I am very happy with how I rode and I am happy that I followed the team's plan to attack early on. This race has become my favorite race of the Classic." [22-year-old Kim Cazzo (EF Education-Cannondale) was sixth in the lead pack, while compatriot Niamh Fisher-Black (SD Works-Protime) was 10th and Australian Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM) was 11th.

The Liege-Bastogne-Liege women may have just had their first winner from Australia, but after this race, there seems to be no shortage of riders from the region who have the experience and potential to produce a top rider to follow Brown in 2024.