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Kristen Faulkner gets another shot at Olympic cycling gold in the US

Kristen Faulkner gets another shot at Olympic cycling gold in the US

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PARIS — Kristen Faulkner became the first American woman in 40 years to win a medal in a road race on Sunday, and for her the Paris Olympics are not over yet.

Faulkner, who gave up a lucrative career in venture capital to pursue cycling full-time in 2020, has one more event left on his Olympic schedule: the Team Pursuit, which begins Tuesday at the National Velodrome.

Faulkner led his rivals by 59 seconds on Sunday in the 158-kilometer race that started on the streets of Paris, went to Versailles, then through the high French countryside and back to Paris.

In the team pursuit, she will compete on a track with three American teammates against competitors from other countries. Chloe Dygert, Olivia Cummins, Jennifer Valente and Lily Williams are also on Team USA, which is a medal favorite after winning bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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Dygert also competed in Sunday’s road race and said Faulkner’s development as a track racer helped him succeed in both disciplines.

“He worked hard and did a lot of racing on the track, and I think that helped him a lot,” Dygert said.

Qualifiers for the team pursuit will take place on Tuesday and the competition will conclude on Wednesday with the first round matches followed by the final round.

Faulkner was a late addition to the road racing field after Taylor Knibb left the track to focus on his other events — triathlon, triathlon relay and cycling time trial. Faulkner said he simulated road racing and team pursuit racing 48 hours apart during his training to prepare for the Olympic program, and only decided to stay in road racing after discussing his medal chances with his coaches and his ability to perform at a high level in the team pursuit with a short rest.

On Sunday, he said he “felt pretty strong throughout the day” and after making a climb early in the race he said, “I’m going to do this, keep racing and try to win a medal.”

“That’s what we do,” he added. “And I still feel like, hopefully once I get home I can start my recovery and win another medal in the team pursuit because we have a really strong team and yeah, I want to come away with two medals.”

Contact Dave Birkett [email protected]. Follow her on X and Instagram @davebirkett.

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