PARIS — The sun shines with the Eiffel Tower in the background Paris OlympicsKristen Faulkner stood on stage with her hand over her heart as the American national anthem was played.
She closed her eyes for a moment as the enormity of her women’s road race victory began to sink in.
Faulkner, a former Harvard University rower who made the Olympic team only as an alternate, became the first American in 40 years to medal in the event.
She timed her attacks perfectly against far more experienced riders, including a Dutch rider. Marianne Vosssimply one of the greatest female cyclists of all time.
“It’s a dream come true,” Faulkner said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I can’t even describe it.”
158 kilometers (98 miles) root Starting and finishing in Paris, Faulkner Trocadero In just under four hours.
Faulkner beat Voss, Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky and Hungary’s Blanka Was by 58 seconds, with Voss winning the silver medal and Kopecky winning the bronze medal in a photo finish.
Faulkner and Kopecky caught up with Voss and Vass with about two miles to go, but when Faulkner attacked, the other three hesitated and ultimately failed to catch her.
All that remained before her was the Eiffel Tower and the glory.
The 31-year-old Alaska native is the first American to win a medal of any color in the road race since Connie Carpenter and Alexi Grewal swept the gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Faulkner’s journey to becoming a professional cyclist was a long and winding one.
She was a star rower at Harvard University and worked in investment banking after graduating in 2016. She started rowing as a hobby on the streets of New York City and continued working full time for a Silicon Valley company during her first year as a professional.
“A few years ago I took a really big risk to come here to follow my dreams,” she said. “I made my dreams come true.”
Faulkner first learned to use clip-in pedals in 2017.
“It’s been a rapid trajectory,” she explained. “It’s been a whirlwind, even for those closest to me.”
Her approach to cycling was born out of her work as a venture capitalist.
“I learned how to calculate and evaluate risks,” she says. “In a race, I always have this mindset of what is the risk-to-reward ratio and when should I go all out?”
Faulkner won the U.S. road race in May but did not qualify for the Olympic road race because Chloe Dygert and U.S. time trial champion Taylor Knibb received two automatic berths. Nib retreated Faulkner stepped in as his replacement last month to focus on the Olympic triathlon.
She is now aiming for a second medal in the team pursuit, with qualifying beginning on Tuesday.
“I said I would only enter the road race if I felt physically strong and had a chance to medal,” Faulkner said. “I knew it would be a really tough race, but if I was going to race, I was going to go out there to win. That was the promise I made to my team pursuit teammates.”
Huge crowds cheered the riders as they passed through Paris’ Latin Quarter and the Musée d’Orsay, a former train station.
The trek culminated with three climbs into Paris’ Montmartre district, known for its cobblestone lanes, quaint artsy atmosphere, and most notably, the majestic white Sacré-Coeur Basilica that stands majestically atop Montmartre Hill as if watching over the people of Paris.
Afghanistan’s sisters Fariba and Yildiz Hashimi were briefly part of the early breakaway but were quickly caught up before Nora Jensová of Slovakia broke away on her own and was later joined by the Hashimi sisters and two others.
After entering Paris, the riders sped through the crowds that had gathered around the Louvre, where the Mona Lisa is on display, and the breakaway group was swallowed up by the rest of the pack.
As the riders first tackled the iconic one-kilometer climb of the Butte Montmartre, a new group of riders – Voss, Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini and Faulkner – formed at the front, while Kopecky made a solo charge and caught up with the leaders with about 40 kilometers to go.
Anna Kiesenhofer of Austria, the defending champion who won in Tokyo, said: Everyone had forgotten She was in the lead but finished in 52nd place, about eight minutes back.
With 20km to go, Voss and Bass attacked. They couldn’t get close enough and Faulkner waited patiently.
“I knew Kopecky wanted to catch the lead two, and I knew she was going to run with me. I knew if I got past them I had to attack because there was no one to beat at the finish line,” Faulkner said. “The best place to attack was right after I caught up with them, when everyone was tired. That was my opportunity. I’ve practiced late attacks a lot this year.”
Faulkner ended a long wait for an American road race medal that dated back to the Los Angeles Games.
She can defend her medal there in 2028.
