Olympic cyclist Sarah Gigante joins field for upcoming Women's Warrnambool Cycling Classic

Gigante, who recently signed a three-year deal with Spanish UCI World Team, Movistar, is in the mix to make history by becoming the first ever 'Women's Warrny' winner, which starts from Colac on February 20.

But the 21-year-old is keeping her ambitions for the road race low-key, as she continues to recover from a diagnosis of myopericarditis - inflammation of both the heart muscle and the pericardium - late last year.

The former national time trial champion hasn't raced since competing at the Tokyo Olympics in July, where she finished 40th in the road race and 11th in the time trial.

Gigante said her recent illness had given her a fresh outlook on her riding pursuits.

"My illness last year was certainly the toughest period I've been through," she said. "I missed the freedom of good health and being able to ride to my heart's content.

"Now that I'm back, I realise my experience last year has made me much more appreciative. I'm totally fine now though, more resilient and more patient."

Off the back of a limited block of preparation, Gigante's competitive return will come at this weekend's Mitchelton Tour of Gippsland, exactly 200 days since her last race.

That race, as well as the Warrnambool Classic, will be important steps on Gigante's pathway back to the pro peloton.

"My main goal for the M2W is to simply have fun and enjoy the thrill and excitement of racing my bike again," she said. "The aggressive and punchy racing here will hopefully help me find my race legs again before I join Movistar in the Women's World Tour."

Gigante joins a strong field for the 160-kilometre trek from Colac to Warrnambool, set to be the longest single day road race for women anywhere in the world this year.

Having raced in the Warrnambool to Melbourne once as an 18-year-old, Gigante said she had fond memories of the challenge.

"It will be different starting from Colac, however it's amazing to be part of the first women's edition and I look forward to the tradition continuing," she said.

"I'm very glad to see the prestige surrounding both the men's and women's races and I am also impressed by the huge changes and increased support for women's racing over the last few years.

"I expect a close battle between many riders and teams. Every National Road Series round is hard-fought."

MORE SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: