For Grace Brown, the arrival of her FDJ Suez teammate in the Santos Tour Down Under Women's was a very happy occasion, only after racing the Australian National Road Championships alone.

Racing alone was no problem in the time trial, and Brown again took the title. She finished second again as Trek-Segafredo dominated and Brody Chapman took the green and gold.

The 30-year-old was in good shape, but not good enough to stand alone in the race as tough rivals like Chapman made one move after another.

"I'm very happy to have the French team here because I had to fight a bit harder on my own in the national road championships.

"Having the team behind me gives me a little bit more confidence that I can do something here."

While the silver medal is not a monumental feat, it was her third consecutive second place finish.

The Women's Tour Down Under, which begins on Sunday and includes three stages, may prove to be a better hunting ground, with a course suited to her and a team to support her.

Brown had success in this race very early in her cycling progression, finishing third in a stage in 2018 while racing for Holden Team Gust Racing. She won a stage in 2019, but it was clear that the GC focus for the team would be on three-time race winner Amanda Spratt, as it was in 2020.

Brown then moved to FDJ Suez, where she proved to be a capable team leader, winning four races on the Women's World Tour.

The goal is now clearly to succeed in Australia, where she can enjoy herself in front of family, friends, and cheering crowds back home.

She has many rivals standing in her way, including the new Trek Segafredo duo of Spratt and Chapman, as well as Jayco Aloura's Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Alex Manley.

Also, many of the players have not worn their numbers since last season, making it difficult to gauge their form heading into the Women's Tour Down Under.

"It's always difficult in this race. We obviously know how the Australians who competed in the All-Japan Championships are doing, but I'm a little bit unsure of how all the players coming from Europe and America are doing," Brown said at her final media conference before the race in Adelaide.

"They may have had a good off-season or they may still be building up their form.

"I think Allie Woollaston from New Zealand is one to watch, especially in the sprints, but I can't give a definitive answer to that. Especially if the overall battle is on a knife-edge until the Corkscrew climb, less than 8km from the final finish of the three-stage race on January 15-17, when the overall battle is on a knife-edge.