‘The goal is to win’: Grace Brown all-in for Olympic podium 

A lot has changed for Grace Brown since her Olympic debut three years ago.  

In Tokyo, the time trial specialist just missed the podium in her favoured event, finishing a cruel seven seconds outside the medals despite racing with a broken shoulder.  

Since then, Brown has gone on to win silver twice in the UCI World Championships time trial – in Wollongong in 2022, and Scotland last year.  

Earlier this year, she also became the first Australian woman to win a Monument, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, having finished runner-up in 2020 and 2022.   

And, despite being at the top of her game, she announced last month she would retire at the end of this season – but not before she ticks off some big goals: one being an Olympic medal.  

She has ticked all the boxes in her final preparations: three weeks at altitude in Livigno followed by the Giro d’Italia Women earlier this month, where she placed second in the time trial by less than one second. Now, all that’s left is for the pieces to come together this Saturday in Paris.   

AusCycling spoke to Brown about how she’s approached her second Olympics, and how finishing runner-up twice at the World Championships has given her the extra motivation at these Games.   

What is your goal for Paris? 

The goal is to win it. There’s maybe four time triallists including myself that are capable of winning the race. It’s going to be a bit of a surprise who actually comes out on top and who misses the podium. It’s hard to put a definite bet on who. I’m aiming for that gold medal, and if I fall short and land on the podium, I’m still going to be really happy with that, but hopefully not fourth [laughs].  

Do you keep a close eye on your competitors and how their form is leading up to a big race? 

I would like to say I only focus on myself, but it’s a little bit hard to not pay some attention if your competitors are winning time trial races. It always sparks my interest a little bit.  

For example, Dutchwoman Ellen van Dijk has come back after having a baby last year and already won two time trials. So you can do a little bit of assessment to see how good those wins were.  

You need to keep tabs a little bit, just to see where they are at. To see if they are doing anything new. I think everyone is working behind to scenes to try and be the best they can be on the day.  

Grace Brown finished second on the podium at the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong. Photo: Getty

You’ve come second two years in a row in the time trial at the World Championships. Last year it was agonisingly close, just 5 seconds behind first. Does coming that close to the win spark that fire in the belly for the Olympics? 

I think it would be hard to have really high goals if I hadn’t come that close before: twice now at the World Championships, I can see that winning is possible. You still carry a little bit of hurt that you weren’t able to do it in those opportunities.  

All sorts of thoughts go through your head when you are hurting in the middle of a race, but to know that twice I’ve been so close, just to have that extra incentive and say to myself, “Okay, you need to make up that extra five seconds,” every second counts.  

Just five seconds stood between Grace Brown and the gold medal in Glasgow. Photo: SWPix

And having achieved those top results, do you feel extra pressure to perform, or is it a confidence booster?  

There is definitely pressure to perform, there is a degree of expectation from anyone that supports me, from AusCycling, to my family and my fans. But pressure is a good thing, because its means there are people out there who believe what you can do. I use it as a motivation rather than something to get anxious about. I know in situations where there is no pressure it can be almost harder to perform, you think, “No-one thinks I can do it anyway, so what does it matter?” 

Looking back at your first Olympics in Tokyo, is there anything you learned from that experience? 

There are so many things about time trialling that I’ve learned since then and I’ve really fine-tuned the race process.  

In terms of the Olympics more broadly, just knowing how much more attention there is on that event compared to any other race that I do. Really, the whole country stops and pays attention. The first time you realise it, you can’t prepare for it. Knowing that it’s like that now, I can just be a little bit better prepared and know what is about to hit.  

(Getty)

Do you sometimes have to pinch yourself that you are going to your second Olympics? 

I think the first time round it was huge, especially during COVID, you think, "It’s going to derail the day before my race.” There were people in the cycling hotel that had COVID, you think, “I’m going to come down COVID and I’m not going to be able to race and I’m not going to be an Olympian.” You just thought something is going to stop this dream from coming true. 

This time, there is still a little bit of that. Particularly now going in with a big goal to win or be on the podium, you just don’t want that opportunity to be taken away. I don’t think there’s much else in a person’s life that can compare to it. 

The women's Individual Time Trial will be held on Saturday July 27 starting at 10:30pm AEST. The women's Road Race will be held on August 4 starting at 10pm AEST.

*Sections of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.