If Grace Brown learnt anything from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last year, it was that no matter how well prepared it’s a race where the stakes are so high that there are no easy pickings. The FDJ-SUEZ rider had been flying through the spring of 2022 in the form of her life, but those front-of-field finishes became elusive in France.
That’s why even though she’s heading into the Tour mentally refreshed after a break from racing, and with the form ticking along nicely, the 31-year-old isn’t taking anything for granted for her second year of racing at the eight-day French tour.
“It’s hard, the Tour de France is just really big, and I think I’m more nervous than I was last year because I know a bit more what to expect, how crazy it’s going to be,” Brown told Cyclingnews in a phone interview during the final week before the race. “I feel physically good but I guess a little bit apprehensive about what I can expect from myself because we know that everyone’s in super form.
“Last year I thought that I was in my best shape of the year, maybe ever, and I didn’t get any results at all. So it’s like you need to go in believing that you can do something, but also not expecting it.”
The brutal slopes of the Col du Tourmalet on stage 7 may be drawing plenty of anticipation, but for Brown it is the stages before and after that excite her. FDJ-SUEZ is likely to be backing Marta Cavalli and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig for the overall, and while Brown was clear that “she’ll be there to help the team”, the Australian is also likely to take advantage of any stage opportunities that crop up.
“I think quite a lot of the early stages are fairly well suited to me, the hard stages with a lot of elevation but not really long climbs … that’s the sort of profile that suits my abilities – it can be really attritional over hard terrain,” said Brown.
“I’m hopeful that I can try for a stage result early in the race but the more focussed target is the time trial on the last day.”
While Brown’s rivals for those stage wins have largely been training at altitude in the European summer, or racing in the heat of the Giro d’Italia Donne, Brown hasn’t pinned on a number since the CIC-Tour Feminin International des Pyrenees in early June and hasn’t exactly been basking in the warmth.
During her race break, Brown went back to Australia, spending time with her husband in the chilly Melbourne winter. She still found ways of preparing for what is…
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