Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ): “I was confident I could win the final sprint”

April 21 ^st 2024 - 19:27

We know that quite often a really strong breakaway goes in middle section of this race. The plan was for me or one of my teammates to be in that break. It was finally me who made it. We worked well together and built very decent gap that surprised me. I knew that, if the break survived, it was going to be a long day for me. I was in there just to get a head start ahead of the climbs, so I didn’t have to drive it. Some other riders were more motivated than me to pull. As the peloton was not riding fast, we didn’t have to push hard at the front.

Once we got over La Redoute with a group of three I thought we definitely could make it with the front group to the finish. I felt I was on the limit in the last climbs, but once I survived La Roche-aux-Faucons I knew everything was downhill to the finish. Even when the three riders came from behind, I believed I was the strongest sprinter on the group and I was confident I could win the race on the final sprint.

In the closing kilometres, I was mainly managing the late attacks from Canyon//SRAM. As they were playing one-two moves, I gambled a bit on which ones to follow. I tried to play it patiently as Kim [Cadzow] chased Kasia [Niewiadoma] down with Elisa [Longo Borghini] on her wheel. I was hoping I could come around them in the final meters. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t… and this time it did!

This is probably the biggest win of my career so far. I have had many 2nd places in many good races, but this is the first Monument me and my team have won. It’s an exciting page on the history books for both me and my team. My next race will be La Vuelta Femenina 24 by Carrefour.es, and then I will take a little break.