TOKYO TRIO TO LINE UP IN LA COURSE IN FRANCE

In July, Team BikeExchange duo Amanda Spratt and Grace Brown and Canyon-SRAM Racing Tiffany Cromwell will line up together for Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games. This weekend, they will contest the eighth edition of La Course in France.

Fellow Australians in Brodie Chapman (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and reigning national champion Sarah Roy (Team BikeExchange) will also line up in a field of the world's best.

The women's peloton will tackle a 107.4km course set to take place on the same roads as the men's opening Tour de France stage. Beginning in Brestit will culminate with three laps of a 14-kilometre circuit, with the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups climb in Landerneau to provide a picturesque location for the finish line.

First held in 2014, La Course has provided many iconic Women's WorldTour moments, including Chloe Hosking's 2016 win on the Champs Elysees on the final day of the Tour de France.

The 2021 edition may be the final time it is held, with the official launch of the Tour de France Femmes set for 2022.

Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) has enjoyed a superb first half of 2020, with six podium appearances highlighted by victories at Brugge-De Panne and the opening stage of Vuelta a Burgos.

"I think it will be a really good course. The climb in the circuit isn't very long or steep, but the repetition over four laps will cause attrition. I expect it will be raced quite aggressively with only a select group making it to the finish," said Brown.

"We are lining up with a small but strong team, and I think we will race smart and be really competitive at La Course this year."

In mid-July, Spratt, Brown and Cromwell will be joined by Sarah Gigante (Team Tibco-Silicon Valley Bank) in the four-rider Australian Cycling Team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Tokyo Olympic women's road race will feature a 147km course with 2692m of elevation, which starts in Tokyo's Musashinonomori Park and will incorporate incredible views of Mt Fuji. The Time Trial will see riders take on one lap of the 22.1km course beginning at the Fuji International Speedway.

"It (the Olympic Games) has been a childhood dream," said Brown. "But I think it's only really become a reality in the last year or so when I really stepped up in the sport and started getting results and proving that I could compete against some of the best girls in the world.

"It's been a crazy time all over the world because of COVID and there's been a lot of uncertainty in everyone's lives and sport has been particularly affected by that. So it's really exciting that it's finally coming together and it looks like that will get to the start line."