Grace Brown wins Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
A general view of the peloton passing through a landscape during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
A general view of the peloton climbing to the Côte de Saint-Roch during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sarah Gigante in the breakaway during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stina Kagevi competes in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow and Sara Martin in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow and Sara Martin in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow and Sara Martin in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow and Sara Martin in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Julie Van De Velde during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton on a cold and wet day during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow,Sara Martin and Stina Kagevi in the chase group during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Stina Kagevi and Kim Cadzow in the chase during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
Clara Koppenburg and Nikola Noskova during Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2024(Image credit: Getty Images)
The breakaway of nine at at Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM Racing), Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck)(Image credit: Getty Images)
The breakaway of nine at at Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM Racing), Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck)(Image credit: Getty Images)
The breakaway of nine at at Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM Racing), Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck)(Image credit: Getty Images)
The breakaway of nine at at Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Elise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM Racing), Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ), Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale), Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal), Lucinda Brand (Lidl-Trek), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike), Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Julie Bego tries to bridge across to the nine-rider breakaway at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lotte Kopecky in the field at Liege(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow, Elise Chabbey and Grace Brown in a late-race breakaway at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow, Elise Chabbey and Grace Brown in a late-race breakaway at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elise Chabbey and Grace Brown (Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow in the breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elisa Longo Borghini bridges to the breakaway in the front group(Image credit: Getty Images)
Grace Brown celebrates winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Grace Brown and Elisa Longo Borghini sprint for the win at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Grace Brown crosses the line first to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege(Image credit: Getty Images)
Elisa Longo Borghini finishes second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Demi Vollering crosses the line in third place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Katarzyna Niewiadoma finishes 5th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kim Cadzow finishes 6th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Marianne Vos leads in the chase group for 7th place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège(Image credit: Getty Images)
Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) won Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes after spending half of the race in a breakaway. In a group of six that formed in the downhill towards Liège, the Australian came from behind to outsprint Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime).
Brown was part of a group of eight that formed just after the Côte de Stockeu, chasing solo escapee Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) and catching her on the Col du Rosier. On the Côte de La Redoute, Brown, Élise Chabbey (Canyon-SRAM), and Kim Cadzow (EF Education-Cannondale) emerged as the strongest three, still two minutes ahead of the peloton.
A furious chase brought the gap down to under a minute before the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, where Longo Borghini attacked, taking Vollering and Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) with her.
In a gripping final in which Brown almost crashed in a roundabout, the two groups came together. Niewiadoma and Chabbey took turns attacking, and Niewiadoma came onto the finishing straight with a tiny gap. Longo Borghini closed this and launched her sprint, but Brown came from behind and passed the Italian champion on the final metres to win.
“It’s an amazing day. I wanted to be in the break, we always know that a strong break can go in the middle section of the race, and we worked really well together. I felt like I’m at my limit on the climbs towards the end, but once I survived Roche-aux-Faucons, I thought ‘it’s on’,” said Brown.
“I was a little bit stressed. I locked up and almost crashed, but thankfully, I saved it and caught back on to the group. Then I just had to try to calm myself and be patient for the final,” she said, describing the roundabout with 6.8km to go that almost spelled the end of her chances.
“It’s been a tough spring for me, and then this week, finally, I started feeling like my old self. I said to the team that I feel good for Liège, it’s a race that I had good memories from already, so I’m really happy that we could pull it off today,” Brown finished.
