The 20-year-old Victorian arrived in the race as one of the top Australian hopes for the race, with the final climb of the Mur de Huy expected to suit the explosive climber's abilities. She unfortunately suffered a crash in the early part of the race, picking herself up and catching back up with the peloton before realising the extent of the damage done and pulling out.
The race ended for Gigante in a local hospital with scans confirming three broken bones for the young Australian star of the sport; a broken collarbone, fibula and elbow. It had been initially reported from her teammates on Twitter that the injuries were a broken collarbone for the Victorian climber.
Gigante confirmed the diagnosis was worse than initially thought on Instagram.
"Before I broke three bones...I was sooooooo excited for Flèche and its epic finish up the Mur! I have to wait for next year though," Gigante said in her Instagram post. "I chased back to the peloton and raced for ten more kilometres after the crash (aka an awful attempt at gymnastics), but it was painful and rather futile with a fractured collarbone, elbow and fibula!"
The prognosis given the multiple broken bones is positive for the bubbly Gigante, who said she was looking forward to being back on the bike sooner rather than later.
"Apparently, I can ride again super soon though, which is sooooo awesome," said Gigante. "I’m really gutted to miss Liege on Sunday - that’s a bit too soon - but at least I have Girona QOM hunting as my next goal, and some truly awesome people around me. Thanks for all the well wishes!"
A team statement by TIBCO-SVB clarified the crash and Gigante's operation on her borken collarbone.
"I flipped over someone's bike and went right over the handlebars," Gigante said. "I've already had surgery on my collarbone, so that's on the mend, and my elbow and fibula will heal naturally. It shouldn't be too long before I am back on the road. I'm being taken very good care of by my team and support network in the meantime."
Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank's soigneur, Sara Pearse, who is also a clinical kinesiologist, licensed massage and bodywork therapist, and owner of Aspire Sports Therapies said, "she absolutely made the right decision to have surgery immediately."
According to the team statement, Gigante's leg shows no sign of ligament damage, according to the postoperative report. It has small hairline fractures at the head of the fibula and about 3 cm distal. The two cracks are stabilized by strong ligaments that effectively splint the injury while it heals without any other treatment.
The elbow broke on the radial plateau, a small flat place where the thumb-side of the forearm articulates with the elbow bone (ulnar olecranon process). It's also stabilized by strong ligaments, and should heal quickly.
"It will take all three injuries (clavicle, fibula, radius) about two weeks to heal," Pearse said. "She can ride the trainer in the next few days as pain allows. Then she can get back on the bike outdoors, and as long as everything progresses according to plan, she should be fully cleared and recovered in six weeks."
