Illness hits Urška Žigart ahead of Tour de France Femmes time trial

Tuesday will be a very important day at the Tour de France Femmes, particularly for the general classification. A 21-kilometre individual time trial between the small town of Gevrey-Chambertin and Dijon is on the programme, but Urška Žigart is unlikely to start it at full fitness. The Slovenian has fallen ill, her team has confirmed.

Žigart began the Tour de France Femmes as one of the AG Insurance–Soudal riders to watch, but her results quickly fell short of expectations. She lost some time during the opening stage, before conceding considerably more in Monday’s third stage. The Slovenian eventually crossed the finish line almost 26 minutes behind stage winner Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset.

The reason became clear later that evening. “The toughest days often reveal the strongest character,” her team wrote at the start of an update posted on X on Monday evening. “Suffering from a stomach issue, Urška faced a difficult day in the saddle but showed incredible determination to reach the finish of today’s third stage.”

Žigart managed to finish the stage, but she lost a significant amount of time. “I didn’t feel like myself today. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the bike. Thank you to the girls in my group today. It is incredible to see how everyone looks after one another and understands the pain of being there, simply trying to make it to the finish within the time limit,” Žigart said.

The illness is already a major disappointment, but it is particularly unfortunate with Tuesday’s individual time trial approaching. “Let’s hope this little stomach bug is gone after tomorrow, so I can take it ‘easy’ in the time trial,” the Slovenian added. Whether she will genuinely be able to do that remains to be seen.