Grace Brown has ended her professional cycling career in the best possible way, winning the Crono des Nations individual time trial in France on Sunday.

"It's done," Brown said as she dismounted from her bike, before hugging members of her team.

"It's time for the rest of life."

Brown, 32, indicated earlier in the year that this would be her last in the professional peloton.

And she definitely made the most of it.

Starting her season by winning the Australian national time trials in Mount Helen, Brown earned the biggest win of her career by claiming the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes one-day classic in April.

She backed that up with two stage wins and the overall victory at the three-day Bretagne Tour stage race in May, before her crowning glory in Paris at the Olympic Games.

Not content with that, Brown later blitzed the field at the World Championships in Zurich, becoming the first rider to ever win both the Olympic Games and World Championship time trial in the same year, a feat soon repeated by Remco Evenepoel.

Brown also claimed the team time trial crown as part of the victorious Australian squad.

After claiming her first world champions jersey in the time trial in Zurich, Brown was told she had to continue now that she was world champion.

"A lot of people are saying that," she said with a grin, before confirming that her plan was to still finish up.

"I just feel really, really lucky to have had the end of my career like this. It's special."

Brown may not continue next year, but at least she got one chance to complete in the rainbow bands of the world champion.

Looking resplendent in the world champions jersey — something Brown said would be "special" to compete in — Brown also sported a golden helmet and bike to reflect her Olympic title, and she blitzed the course to record her eighth race win of the season.

The 32-year-old beat her FDJ-Suez teammate Vittoria Guazzini by 51 seconds, completing the 27.23km course around Les Herbiers in 35 minutes and 26.55 seconds, an average of just over 46kph.

In the men's event, Australian Jay Vine finished in second place, just 4 seconds behind Swiss rider Stefan Küng, who added a third Chrono des Nations title to his tally.