"I really miss life in Australia" – Grace Brown to retire from professional cycling at the end of 2024

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"I really miss life in Australia" – Grace Brown to retire from professional cycling at the end of 2024

Australia's top female road cyclist, Grace Brown, has decided to end her professional cycling career by the end of 2024.The 31-year-old FDJ-Suez Rider wants to leave while at the top of her game and add even more gloss to her impressive Palmares before her last sign-off.

The Melbourne-born rider was a late conversion to cycling, shifting from running, and she has a 23UCI victory, adding Liège-Bastogne-Liège to the list on May 5. He has also won 2nd place in the time trial of the World Championships 2 times, and is expected to compete in road races with the Australian national team at the Paris Olympics.

"We decided this year will be the last year of professional cycling," Brown said in an Instagram post.In an instagram post, he wrote: "I decided this year to be the last year of professional cycling. "That's something I've been thinking about for a while now and I finally feel confident to tell everyone.

Brown made her talent clear by finding her way to the podium of the stage of the 2018 Santos Women's Tour, starting in Australia with Holden team Gusto Racing, then she moved to development team Wiggle High5, and in 2019 the Australian GreenEdge cycling team, GreenEdge Racing. It has shifted to the top tier, now known as Liv-AlUla-Jayco. He will then join the FDJ World Tour team in France in 2022 and finish his career.

"I know I can have more years in cycling, but I really miss my life in Australia with my husband, my family and my friends, and that's something that is increasingly difficult to leave," Brown said.

While European-based riders may be able to easily get home between races, return trips during the season are rare, as Australian riders face costly day and night in transit, seasonal reversals, and a considerable disconnect in the time zone. There are also blocks of national Championships and Women's World Tour races in May to make the most of this with most trapped their travel home in the off-season

Brown is one of the important riders to see during this block always, in particular, won 4 national time trial championships and won the National Road Race. He stepped up to the podium of the race 5 times and won the Tour down under in 2023. She is not only a valuable teammate, she has also brought many big victories for her team in Europe, and has also been an important contender for Australia in both the time trial where she took silver twice and in road races in recent years. 

I'm really happy with everything I've achieved, it's far beyond what I've ever expected," Brown said, adding, "I'm really excited for the next chapter of my life, but at the same time I'm really sad to leave this world behind."

But there is still time for the final race to run. Having taken 4th place in the time trial in Tokyo, Brown is expected to lead the Australian Olympic team in both the fight against the clock and the road race in Paris. After competing in the past two editions of the Tour de France Femme, Brown could be part of the team again in the race for the home team, FDJ-Suez

"I would like to really thank everyone who followed me on my journey, supported me and believed in me," Brown said. Said. 

"But it's not over yet. I still have some really big goals I want to achieve this year and will continue racing in FDJ-Suez until the end of the season... Let's see if I can sign off in style.”

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