Kristen Faulkner surprises with gold in Olympic women’s road race

American cyclist Kristen Faulkner claimed a stunning victory in the 2024 Olympic women’s road race, riding away with three kilometers to go to take gold in Paris on Sunday. The last time an American woman won the event was at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, when Connie Carpenter-Phinney finished first.

Although she is the reigning U.S. road champion, Faulkner was a substitute athlete in this Olympic event. Taylor Knibb resigned in the road race to focus on the time trial and triathlon eventsand Faulkner took her place.

The 31-year-old made a dramatic attempt to reach the finish line at the end of the 158-kilometer race. Her rivals had no answer and she sprinted away to take gold.

“I knew I had to attack them once we caught them,” she said. “I knew they were sprinters. But I also knew they didn’t want to work together — they were three different countries. I knew if I got a little bit of a lead, they would have to race for second place.

“I just counted to 10, about 10 times, until I reached the finish line.”

Faulkner, a Harvard graduate and former rower, first got interested in cycling while biking around New York City’s Central Park. In 2017, she took an introductory course in women’s cycling, and in 2020 she raced for Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank, at the time the longest-running professional women’s cycling team in North America. A year later, she quit venture capital to focus full-time on cycling. Faulkner now rides for the American Continental Women Team EF Education-Cannondale.

“This is a dream come true,” she said. “I still look at that sign at the finish line and wonder how my name got there.”

Faulker is one of two Olympians competing in Paris who are from Alaska. She originally hails from Homer, a small city on the Kenai Peninsula, while rugby sevens bronze medalist Alev Kelter calls the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River home. Twenty-six athletes in the Paris Games are Harvard products, either as current students or alumni.

KRISTEN FAULKNER WINS GOLD FOR TEAM USA IN WOMEN’S ROAD RACE! 🇺🇸🥇

📺 CNBC and Peacock | #Olympic Games in Paris photo.twitter.com/72APhuUW0n

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2024

The battle for silver and bronze was fought in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, with Marianne Vos of the Netherlands beating Lotte Kopecky of Belgium by a fraction of a wheel.

Hungarian Blanka Vas had to settle for fourth place in the photo finish.

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(Photo: DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)