Olympic and World Champion Grace Brown excited to watch her former rivals in 2025: "The level has gone up"
Cycling
Grace Brown retired from the peloton at the end of the 2024
season, and she had one of the greatest final seasons the sport has ever seen.
Back in April, she won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, before winning the Olympic time
trial in Paris, following by the world championship time trial in Zurich in
September. The Australian bowed out in style, becoming the first cyclist to win
the Olympic and World championship time trial races in the same season, beating
Remco Evenepoel to the feat.
Now on the side lines, Brown can enjoy the sport from the
spectators view. Brown recently spoke to Wieler Revue about some of the big
stories in the women’s peloton, such as Demi Vollering’s transfer to her former
team FDJ-Suez.
"It will be interesting to see how she does without SD
Worx. I am optimistic that the team will be able to adapt to her ambitions,” she
said positively. “In any case, it is good for the sport that not all the top
riders are in the same team anymore. Different teams will compete against each
other and I think that will be good for the excitement."
Brown also is excited to see the legend Anna van der Breggen
return to the peloton. “She was always a great champion and I'm curious
how she'll feel in the peloton now. The sport has changed since she left."
"The level has gone up, but I am sure she will reach her old
level again. Will she be as dominant as before? That will be difficult. It adds
an interesting aspect to the women's race. Van der Breggen has always remained
very close to the peloton as team leader at SD Worx. That helps."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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