Grace Brown has won a monumental victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a time trial gold medal at the Olympics, and now becomes the first Australian to win a women's elite world title in a race against the clock.

“Mentally, I know this is my last season,” said the FDJ-Suez rider, who won the women's elite time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Zurich.

“This is my year and this is the result of putting everything I have into this goal. I feel I have reached my potential and I know what it is.

That may not be the case for Brown, but it is a question others continue to ask of the player, who in June announced plans to retire at the end of 2024.

“I've lost count,” Brown said at a media conference after the time trial, when asked by how many people whether he plans to change his mind about retirement and continue winning big.

“That's probably about the 1,000th person to ask me that.”

It's an understandable question, considering only the professional aspect of Brown's career. The cycling world is at Brown's feet, and she has earned the right to race on a golden bike and a rainbow band. But what Brown is seeking is another gold nugget at the end of the rainbow.

The 32-year-old, a relatively latecomer to cycling, left the Women's World Tour not because her career or passion was nearing its expiration date.

“My reason for quitting cycling is not because I've fallen out of love with it,” she said. It's because the life I've set aside in Australia for the past six years is pulling me back stronger than my love of cycling.” Whereas many European-based riders can return to family, friends, and their home country between races in a relatively cheap flight of a couple of hours or less, for riders from Melbourne, home is an expensive trip that takes about 24 hours.

Heading to Melbourne also means turning your body clock upside down. Just keeping in touch by phone is a hurdle. The European race and training days are not as easy as they seem, because the athletes in Melbourne are done while they are sleeping.

When asked if most Europeans understand the magnitude of the challenges they face, the Olympic gold medalist and world title holder's answer was “probably not.”

“I don't think a lot of my competitors understand the sacrifices I've made,” Brown said. 'I have a husband, he's in Australia, and he's coming this year for about three weeks and six weeks. He has his own job, so he can't quit and come over here and live with me.”

“Between races, I can't go home to my family and I don't have a support network. I'm surrounded by great people in the cycling world in Europe, but it's not the same as being with my family and loved ones.

Brown's heart may be in Australia, but it is clear that cycling will continue to hold its own.

But first, she must look ahead to her last season, which includes winning the rainbow jersey at the Crono de Nations in October and the World Championships mixed time trial on Wednesday.

“I think we have a strong team and hopefully we can compete for gold there,” Brown said.

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