Kristen Faulkner, a 31-year-old from Homer, Alaska, ended a 40-year American gold medal drought in the women's cycling road race at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. It was the first win by the Americans in the event since Connie Carpenter made it through to the top at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
It's been quite the journey, for Faulkner to Olympic gold. A former rower and hiker, she just took up cycling six years ago, looking for another outdoor challenge when she moved to New York for a role as a venture capitalist.
Faulkner wasn't due to feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was called up to Team USA after Taylor Knibb decided to focus on other events.
The American told Reuters she had to win solo to beat the other riders because they are faster on the finish line.
"I was guessing they would not work super well together, because there were four of us and only three medals," she said.
The career switch of Faulkner from finance to full-time cycling was quick to evolve. By 2020, she was racing with Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank, which at that time was the longest-running professional women's cycling team in North America. As early as 2021, she quit her job as a venture capitalist with the view that it would be just a short detour from her commitment to sport.
Now she rides for the American Continental Women Team EF-Oatly-Cannondale. She enjoys the competitiveness but also the camaraderie and rigours of training-daily rides of 50 miles or so. Equally helpful to her success in cycling has been her financial background.
"A lot of what I learnt to do is how to take calculated risks. In a race, I take that mindset with me," she said.
