Because the clock ticks down on Grace Brown’s closing months as knowledgeable bike owner, she is hoping to ship the last word swan tune – a gold for Australia, or no less than a first-ever medal for the nation within the girls’s time trial on the Paris Olympic Video games.
The 32-year-old from Melbourne, who was a fourth-placed finisher within the Tokyo Video games ITT, has lifted her recreation significantly since. She claimed silver at each the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, on the primary event being 12 seconds behind Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) after which six seconds again from Chloe Dygert (United States).
“I feel it might be onerous to have actually excessive objectives if I hadn’t come that shut earlier than: twice now on the World Championships. I can see that profitable is feasible,” mentioned Brown in a information launch from AusCycling earlier this week. “You continue to carry a little bit little bit of damage that you just weren’t in a position to do it in these alternatives.
“All types of ideas undergo your head if you end up hurting in the course of a race, however to know that twice I’ve been so shut, simply to have that additional incentive and say to myself, ‘OK, it’s essential make up that additional 5 seconds,’ each second counts.”
The three riders who claimed the medals forward of Brown on the COVID-19-delayed Video games are usually not on the beginning line, with the primary and third-placed Dutch riders Annemiek van Vleuten and Anna van der Breggen having since retired, and sickness sidelining the second-placed Swiss rider Marlen Reusser. Nonetheless, there will probably be no scarcity of competitors.
“The purpose is to win it,” mentioned Brown. “There’s possibly 4 time triallists together with myself which can be able to profitable the race. It’s going to be a little bit of a shock who truly comes out on high and who misses the rostrum. It’s onerous to place a particular wager on who.
“I’m aiming for that gold medal, and if I fall quick and land on the rostrum, I’m nonetheless going to be actually proud of that, however hopefully not fourth,” laughed Brown.
With Reusser out, the clear favourites together with Brown are the 2 most up-to-date World Champions within the self-discipline, Dygert and Van Dijk, the latter who has shortly returned to spectacular kind following the start of her first youngster however has needed to rebound from a damaged ankle.
Then there’s additionally Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy), who most just lately made a mark within the self-discipline by beating Brown to the win the opening Giro d’Italia time trial. Demi Vollering’s energy has been evident as a GC rider however there will be little doubt the Tour de France Femmes winner is aware of find out how to ship on the largest of phases plus the Dutch rider additionally claimed victory within the particular person time trial on the Tour de Suisse final month.
Add in street World Champion Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), Christina Schweinberger (Switzerland), who got here third at World Championships final yr, and European Championships runner-up Anna Henderson (Nice Britain) as amongst these in competition for a high 5 spot within the flat 32.4-kilometre time trial.
Nonetheless regardless of the hefty lineup of rivals as Brown heads into her second Olympic Video games, she goes in with the peace of mind of a season the place she has already swept up a sought-after victory at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, has had the good thing about a clean lead-in to organize and carries rather more expertise than in her first Video games.
“There are such a lot of issues about time trialling that I’ve discovered since then and I’ve actually fine-tuned the race course of,” mentioned Brown.
However will or not it’s sufficient to ship a magical swan tune for the rider who plans to retire on the finish of 2024?
There will probably be lots watching to search out out as Brown rolls from the beginning line because the second-to-last rider, earlier than Dygert, at 15:19:30 (23:19:30 AEST) on Saturday July 28.
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