On Sunday, August 4, 2024, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Cannondale) surprised the race favourites when she soloed to the finish of the Olympic road race in Paris, clinching Team USA's first medal in the event in 40 years.
Even more remarkable, Faulkner hadn't even known she'd be racing the event until four weeks prior, when Taylor Knibb withdrew from the competition.
Given the season and upward trajectory Faulkner has had, many were surprised the current U.S. road racing champion wasn't selected to begin with. The Alaskan kicked off the season with a strong spring campaign which saw her win Omloop het Hageland and finish sixth at Strade Bianche Donne. She went on to win a stage at La Vuelta España Femenina followed by netting a silver time trial medal and the stars-and-stripes jersey at 2024 U.S. National Road Race Championships.
While her career as a professional cyclist is still young, Faulkner is quickly making a name for herself, especially in solo efforts and the race against the clock. Faulkner was the 2023 Pan American time trial champion, lost out on the U.S. time trial title by just 11 seconds, and finished sixth at the 2022 World Time Trial Championships.
Despite Faulkner’s impressive rise in the sport, becoming a pro cyclist wasn’t even on Faulkner’s radar until around 2020. In fact, she didn’t even ride bikes for anything other than occasional recreational activities until 2017.
Get to know your new Olympic road race champion below.
1. Faulkner is Alaskan born and raised
Faulkner grew up in Homer, Alaska, a small fishing town that is known as the Halibut Capital of the World. She worked in her parents’ restaurant and hotel alongside her four siblings to “learn the value of hard work."
2. Faulkner is a Harvard grad
Faulkner went to high school at the Phillips Academy in Massachusetts where she was an honors student and then attended Harvard, where she studied computer science.
3. Faulkner was a collegiate rower
Faulkner was always an active and competitive kid, but cycling wasn't on her radar until her twenties. Instead, Faulkner was a competitive rower, swimmer and runner.
She placed second at the Junior World Rowing Championship in 2010 and rowed collegiately for Harvard.
4. Faulkner was a venture capitalist
Faulkner started her post-college career as an investment associate at Threshold Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California. According to Faulkner’s website, she “loved [her] job because [she] was supporting entrepreneurs who were risking everything to pursue their big dreams.”
Today, Faulkner is a full-time professional athlete but also an investor who focuses on gender equality and supporting women in technology, entrepreneurship and investing. She previously hosted free office hours for female entrepreneurs and held leadership roles for All Raise, a community of female venture capitalists.
5. Faulkner didn’t even ride a road bike until 2016
Although Faulkner knew the basics of how to ride a bike, it wasn’t until she attended a free introductory “learn to ride” class for women in New York City in 2016 that she fell in love with road riding.
After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2018, Faulkner continued to hone her riding skills and fitness, and in 2020 she began racing professionally for the now-defunct TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank women’s team.
6. Faulkner has made 3 World Championship appearances (so far)
Faulkner has represented the U.S. at three cycling World Championships thus far:
- The 2020 E-Sports World Championships, where she finished 19th place
- The 2021 Road World Championships, where she finished in 52nd place
- The 2022 Road World Championships where she finished 61st in the road race and sixth in the time trial.
7. Faulkner was caught up in controversy at the 2023 Strade Bianchi
Faulkner was DQ’d from last year’s Strade Bianche for wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) in competition, which is banned by the UCI. This cost Faulkner a podium spot - she would have finished in third. Faulkner later released a statement saying she was “very disappointed” in the DQ decision.
Faulkner finished sixth overall at this year’s Strade Bianchi.
8. She's the current U.S. National Road Race Champion
After missing out on the U.S. national time trial title by just 11 seconds in May, Faulkner got a second chance at the stars-and-stripes jersey just a few days later, in the national road race championship. Here, Faulkner and her EF Education-Cannondale team applied what appears to be becoming Faulkner's recipe for success: keep the pace high throughout the second half of the race, make the break and then go solo.
“To have the American jersey is really special; I have never had it before. I like the pink but the one thing better is the stars and stripes," commented Faulkner post-race.
9. She wasn't meant to compete in the Olympic road race
USA Cycling earned two spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic road race, to be filled by two riders who would compete in both the time trial and the road race. Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) punched her ticket to Paris by becoming the 2023 world time trial champion. The second spot was to be filled by the rider who won the U.S. national time trial championships, which was triathlete Taylor Knibb.
Knibb had already secured her Olympic presence in triathlon and became the first American athlete to qualify in two sports for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
With a full schedule of four Olympic events ahead, Knibb decided to withdraw from the road race, leaving room for Faulkner to take her place instead.
Faulkner had already been selected for the US track team, competing alongside Dygert, Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) and Jennifer Valente (Virginia's Blue Ridge–TWENTY24) in the team pursuit.
"I dreamed of competing in the Olympics ever since I was 8 years old, and I saw it on T.V. This is the biggest dream I've ever had, and it's finally come true," stated Faulkner. "I am beyond excited to represent the USA alongside such a strong group of athletes. I will do my best to bring home a medal for Team USA!"
10. She gave USA its first road racing medal in 40 years
The last time the United States medaled in the Olympic road race was in 1984 when Alexi Grewal won gold in the men's event and Connie Carpenter and Rebecca Twigg took gold and silver in the women's event, respectively. With her win in Paris, Faulkner is joining a very exclusive club indeed, marking a significant milestone in U.S. cycling history.
11. She is a rising star and one to watch
The 31-year-old has big dreams, with a second potential Olympic medal still obtainable in Paris as track cycling gets underway later this week. Her fitness is certainly on form and with the Tour de France Femmes and the UCI World Championships still ahead, she's certainly one to watch.
