Grace Brown has firmly laid to rest her own questions about just how far she could go in the sport this year, hitting pinnacles of cycling repeatedly by claiming a Monument victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Olympic Games gold in the time trial and now she has also become the first Australian to win the women’s elite world title in the race against the clock.
“Mentally I know that this is my last season and maybe it’s given me the mental energy to go all-in and focus 100 percent,” said the FDJ-Suez rider after claiming the women’s elite time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich.
“It’s been my year and this is the result if I put everything towards these goals. Now I feel like I’ve reached my potential, I know what that is and there’s no questions left.”
Not for Brown, perhaps, but there is a question that others keep asking the rider who announced her plans to retire at the end of 2024 in June – why not keep the golden bike and rainbow bands in the peloton for 2025?
“I think I’ve lost count,” said Brown when queried in the post time trial media conference about how many people had asked her if she was going to change her mind about retiring and continue on given the big wins. “You’re probably like the 1,000th person that’s asked me that.”
It is an understandable question when just the professional aspect of Brown’s life is taken into consideration. The cycling world is at Brown’s feet and she has earnt the right to race with a golden bike and the rainbow bands plus has all the career opportunities they deliver unfolding. However, it is a different pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that Brown is seeking.
The 32-year-old who came to cycling relatively late has always been clear that her reasons for leaving the Women’s WorldTour behind were never because her career or passion appeared to be even close to its use by date – it was her willingness to continue life far from her nearest and dearest that had reached expiry.
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“The reason I’m stopping is not that I’ve fallen out of love with cycling,” said Brown. “It’s because the life that I’ve put aside in Australia the last six years is pulling me back stronger than my love for cycling.”
While many European-based riders can return to family, friends and their home country between races via a relatively cheap flight that is less than a couple of hours, for the rider from Melbourne home is a costly journey of around 24 hours away.
Heading there also means turning the body clock upside down – as the time zone turns night into day – adapting to a completely different season and then doing the same again on return. Even just keeping in touch via phone has its hurdles, given that as the European race and training day is ending as those back in Melbourne are most likely sleeping.
Second-placed Demi Vollering who hails from the comparatively nearby Netherlands congratulates Grace Brown (Australia) after she topped what until then had been the fastest time (Image credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
When asked if most Europeans understood the extent of the challenges faced the answer from the Olympic gold medallist and world title holder was “probably not”.
“I think a lot also of my competitors don’t really understand the sacrifices that I’ve made,” said Brown. “I have a husband and he’s in Australia but he comes over for periods of time, maybe three weeks and six weeks this year. He has his own professional commitments, he can’t quit and come over and live with me here.
“Between races, I can’t go home to my family and have my support network there. Sometimes it can be really lonely even though I’m surrounded by great people in Europe in the cycling world, but it’s not the same as being around your family and your loved ones,” said Brown, also adding that the tension dissipates at home with problems always easier to solve amid a familiar culture.
Brown’s heart may be in Australia but cycling will also clearly continue its hold, it is just that she’ll have to find another way to remain involved in the sport from 2025 that doesn’t mean long stretches in Europe each year.
First, however, there is the rest of her final season to consider, including a showing of the rainbow jersey at the Chronos des Nations in October and, in the more immediate future, the World Championships mixed time trial on Wednesday.
“I think we have a strong team and hopefully we can compete for the gold there as well,” said Brown, who is also lining up for the elite/U23 women’s road race on Saturday where “if we can be tactically smart we can give ourselves a good shot”.
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