As the clock ticks down on Grace Brown’s remaining months as knowledgeable bike owner, she is hoping to ship the last word swan track – a gold for Australia, or a minimum of a first-ever medal for the nation within the ladies’s time trial on the Paris Olympic Games.
The 32-year-old from Melbourne, who was a fourth-placed finisher within the Tokyo Games ITT, has lifted her sport 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 believe it will be onerous to have actually excessive targets 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 nonetheless carry a bit of little bit of damage that you just weren’t capable of do it in these alternatives.
“All types of ideas undergo your head if you find yourself 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 Games aren’t 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. However, there will likely be no scarcity of competitors.
“The objective is to win it,” mentioned Brown. “There’s perhaps 4 time triallists together with myself which might be able to profitable the race. It’s going to be a little bit of a shock who truly comes out on prime and who misses the rostrum. It’s onerous to place a particular guess 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 type following the start of her first baby 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 might be little question the Tour de France Femmes winner is aware of tips on how to ship on the most important of levels 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 12 months, and European Championships runner-up Anna Henderson (Great Britain) as amongst these in competition for a prime 5 spot within the flat 32.4-kilometre time trial.
Still regardless of the hefty lineup of rivals as Brown heads into her second Olympic Games, she goes in with the reassurance 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 easy lead-in to organize and carries far more expertise than in her first Games.
“There are so many issues about time trialling that I’ve discovered since then and I’ve actually fine-tuned the race course of,” mentioned Brown.
But will it’s sufficient to ship a magical swan track for the rider who plans to retire on the finish of 2024?
There will likely be loads watching to seek 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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