- He won his first gold medal at the Paris Games
- He finished his career with an important result in France.
- He has explained why he leaves the sport at the top
Grace Brown has appropriately closed her cycling career with another victory, capping a dream season.
The Australian participated for the first time in the Nations Time Trial, beating her FDJ-Suez teammate, Vittoria Guazzini, by 51 seconds in the 27.2 km test held in France.
“It’s done…it’s time for the rest of life,” Brown said in an Instagram video post from his team.
The 32-year-old will return to Melbourne in the coming days with a packed trophy cabinet to enjoy.
The time trial specialist won Australia’s first Olympic gold medal, eliminating the event in soggy conditions on the first day of the Games.
It was Brown’s first Olympic medal.
Grace Brown and her husband Elliot Smith celebrate their Olympic gold medal in France
The Australian won her first Olympic gold medal in her final year of competitive racing.
Brown has retired from cycling because he misses his life in Australia.
Brown had started the year in January by winning his third consecutive Australian time trial championship, the fourth time overall he had won the title, despite a back injury.
In April he achieved the biggest road victory of his career, winning the classic Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Two months later, with Paris just around the corner, Brown shocked the sport by announcing that this season would be his last.
Brown explained in an emotional video post that he missed his Australian life.
There were many questions after her gold medal in Paris about whether Brown would reconsider that decision, and those questions only multiplied after the Australian starred last month at the world road championships.
Brown won his first world time trial title and then was part of the Australian team that won the mixed team relay, also for the first time.
In May, Brown also won the Bretagne Tour in France for the second year in a row.
Brown ends his professional cycling career with 26 wins and the highlight of this entire season.