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Kristen Faulkner

American racing cyclist (born 1992) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kristen Faulkner
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Kristen Faulkner (born December 18, 1992)[1] is an American racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's Continental Team EF Education–Oatly.[4][5] She is the reigning USA National Road Race Champion[6] and won two gold medals in the women's individual road race and women's track cycling team pursuit at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Faulkner is the first American woman, and third female Olympian, in history to win two gold medals in two different disciplines (in her case, road cycling and track cycling) in the same Olympic Games.[7]

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Early life and education

Faulkner was born in Homer, Alaska to parents Sara and Jon Faulkner, owners and operators of a resort in the city. She grew up in the Alaskan fishing community along with four siblings, Katie, Andrew, William, and Nicholas.[8][9]

Kristen Faulkner graduated from Harvard[10] in 2016 with a B.A in computer science, where she competed in varsity rowing.[11] She holds the university's record for fastest 2k indoor rowing time for lightweight women. Before that, she attended Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, where she was an honor roll student and varsity runner, swimmer, and rower.[citation needed]

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Career

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Faulkner began competitive cycling in New York City in 2017 while she was working as an investment associate at Bessemer Venture Partners.[8] She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2018 and joined Team Tibco–Silicon Valley Bank in 2020. During her first year cycling professionally, she worked full-time as an investment associate at Threshold Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. She won the women's road time trial at the 2023 Pan American Games.[12] In October 2023, it was announced that Faulkner would join the UCI Women's Continental Team EF Education–Oatly for the 2024 season.[13]

Faulkner had a strong start to the 2024 season with her new team. She won the Omloop van het Hageland and Stage 4 of La Vuelta Feminina. In May, she won the road race and finished second in the time trial at the United States National Road Race Championships. She was then selected to join Chloé Dygert in the road race and team pursuit at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[14][15]

Faulkner, despite being a replacement on the 2024 Olympic team, was the first American to win a road racing gold medal in 40 years when she took first place in the women's road race. Faulkner finished the 158-kilometer race 58 seconds ahead of the silver and bronze medalists, who ended the race in a photo finish.[16]

Faulkner also won the gold medal in women's team pursuit in track cycling alongside Chloé Dygert, Jennifer Valente, and Lily Williams. This was the first ever team track cycling gold medal in U.S. history. Faulkner became the first American woman and third female Olympian, after Leontien van Moorsel and Ester Ledecká, to win an Olympic gold medal in two different disciplines in the same Olympic Games.[17]

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Major results

2020 (1 pro win)
1st Super Sweetwater, Grasshopper Adventure Series[18]
1st Stage 4 Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche
2021 (1)
3rd Overall Tour of Norway
1st Stage 1
3rd GP de Plouay
7th Gent–Wevelgem
10th Tour of Flanders
2022 (3)
Giro Donne
1st Mountains classification
1st Prologue & Stage 9
2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 2 (ITT)
3rd Overall Itzulia Women
3rd Navarra Elite Classics
4th Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa
2023 (1)
1st Time trial, Pan American Games
2024 (7)
Olympic Games
1st Road race
1st Team pursuit
National Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial
1st Omloop van het Hageland
1st Stage 4 La Vuelta Feminina
2nd Overall Trofeo Ponente in Rosa
1st Points classification
1st Mountains classification
1st Stages 2 & 3
6th Strade Bianche
2025 (1)
National Championships
1st Road race
2nd Time trial

References

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