Two landmark moments in cycling history were highlighted by Grace Brown’s triumph at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She became the first Australian woman to win a Monument in cycling history and gave FDJ-SUEZ its first victory since the team’s founding in 2006.
Brown now becomes a member of the exclusive group of Australian Monument winners, which also includes Simon Gerrans (Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2014), Stuart O’Grady (Paris-Roubaix 2007), Matthew Hayman (Paris-Roubaix 2016), and Matthew Goss (Milan-San Remo 2011).
The women’s peloton competes at three of the five Monuments. Women’s races are not offered with the men’s events at RCS Sports’ Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia, but the Women’s WorldTour features the Flanders Classics Tour of Flanders and ASO’s Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
“The group is ecstatic. We have never won a Monument before. In the team’s history, it serves as a sort of marker. In an interview on Cycling Pro Net, Brown said, “I’m really happy that I could do it,” her eyes filling with tears of happiness at the finish line.In order to support the team’s goals of expanding throughout the Spring Classics and Grand Tours, Brown joined the FDJ-SUEZ squad in 2022. She frequently sets season goals on the Ardennes Classics, where she placed third in the 2020 and 2022 races in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
