Grace Brown Set To Retire at the end of 2024
02 JUL 2024
Grace Brown, who made history in the Santos Tour Down Under as the first rider to win the event after the women’s race was elevated to UCI WorldTour status, has officially announced that 2024 will be her last year in professional cycling.
Brown took to social media last week to announce her retirement, saying, “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now, and I finally feel confident to share it with everyone."
"I know I could have many more years in cycling, but I really miss my life in Australia with my husband, my family, my friends, and it’s becoming harder and harder to leave.”
At 23 years old, Grace transitioned from running to cycling and first competed at the Australian National Championships in 2016. She joined Holden Team Gusto Racing in 2018, where she made her first podium appearance at the Santos Tour Down Under, placing third in Stage 3 from The Bend Motorsport Park to Hahndorf (122.4km).
In 2019, Brown joined the Australian WorldTour team Mitchelton–Scott (now known as Liv-AlUla Jayco), kicking off the season by winning the Australian National Time Trial Championships and Stage 3 from Nairne to Stirling (104.5km) at the Santos Tour Down Under.
In 2020, she was awarded AusCycling's Female Road Cyclist of the Year and made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, finishing fourth in the time trial despite a broken shoulder.
Brown won gold in the time trial at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and took home a silver medal at the UCI Road World Championships held on home soil.
Throughout nearly 10 years of racing, Grace has achieved 23 UCI wins, secured four national time trial championships, and stood on the podium five times at national road races.
In 2023, Brown and Amanda Spratt went head-to-head in the final stage of the Santos Tour Down Under. In the last kilometers of the race, Brown caught three-time winner Amanda Spratt and outsprinted her to the finish line, securing a 10-second lead and claiming the 2023 Santos Tour Down Under title.
With a long list of accolades already to her name, Grace remarked, “It’s not over yet. I still have some really big goals that I want to achieve this year, and I will continue racing with FDJ-Suez until the end of the season. Let’s see if I can sign off in style.”
Already this year, Grace has won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes and the Bretagne Ladies Tour. She has also been selected for the Australian squad for the Paris Olympics, where she will compete in the Road events alongside Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Lauretta Hanson.
Brown will conclude her professional cycling career racing for the French FDJ WorldTour team.
We wish Grace all the best in the next chapter of her life.
