Grace Brown to have south-west's support in quest for gold at Tokyo

Brown will ride in the road race on July 25 before backing it up with the time-trial on July 28.

Warrnambool Citizens Road Race Committee chair Shane Wilson said Brown was a world-class performer and one of the south-west's most underrated athletes.

Wilson said she "won't be left wondering as she throws everything on the line and has a red-hot crack".

Warrnambool Cycling Club's Richard Adams said it was great to see a local cyclist on the big stage and that it would inspire women across the region.

"It has to be for young women and girls coming through the sport as it is a great to have role models at the top of the sport," he said.

Adams said Brown was carrying good form into the Olympics.

"She has certainly had some good form prior to her crash in the Giro (Donne) with a few wins and placings and that is always a good sign," he said.

"We wish her all the best along with the rest of the team."

The 29-year-old enters her first Olympics at the top of her game after a strong first half to the UCI Women's World Tour season.

She has put herself among the top-10 riders in the world in just her third season as a professional.

The Team BikeExchange rider has one victory (Brugge-De Panne), four podiums and four other top-10 finishes in one-day races so far this season.

She also has a stage victory at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Tour of Spain) and a podium finish in a time-trial at the recent Giro Donne (Tour of Italy).

She was also second in both the road race and time-trial at the Australian championships earlier this year, finishing behind Olympic teammate Sarah Gigante.

Brown abandoned the Giro early after crashing in the final kilometres of stage eight.

She suffered several wounds and had a left shoulder contusion from the crash, which also involved teammates Georgia Williams and Amanda Spratt.

All three riders remounted their bikes and made it to the finish in Mortegliano.

After being assessed by the team's doctor Brown made the decision to withdraw so she could recover for the Olympics.

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Brown is part of a team of four riders which includes Spratt, experienced campaigner and road captain Tiffany Cromwell, and the youthful talent of Gigante.

The Australians will be fighting a strong Netherlands unit for the medals on the road and in the the time-trial.

The Dutch team is made up of four of the world's top-five riders in reigning champion Anna van der Breggen, Annemiek van Vleuten, Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos.

Brown is the fifth south-west cyclist and second from Camperdown to compete at the Olympics. The late Kevin Bradshaw is the town's other cycling representative on the Olympic stage.

Bradshaw, who passed away suddenly in March, competed in the road race and team time-trial events 40 years ago at the 1980 Moscow Games.

Silver medallist Clyde Sefton (1972 Munich), dual silver medallist Michelle Ferris (1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney) and Michael Lynch (1984 Los Angeles) are the other south-west cyclists to go to the Olympics.

Brown will hit the road in the race for gold from 2pm (AEST) on Sunday. She will race against the clock from 12.30pm next Wednesday.

The women's road race is across 147km and finishes at the Fuji International Speedway.

The time-trial is across 22.1km and is a single loop that starts and finishes at the speedway.

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