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Team USA Kristen Faulkner pulled off one of the biggest surprises of all time 2024 Summer Olympics On Sunday, she became only the second American to win a women’s cycling road race.

Faulkner, 31, started cycling in 2017 and started competing in 2020. But she only managed to edge out Belgian world champion Lotte Kopecky and former Olympic gold medallist Marianne Vos of the Netherlands on her way to a historic victory.

Faulkner’s performance seems For this reason It was incredible how he left most of the riders competing in the men’s road race behind on one of the most important sections of the course.

After the race, Faulkner shared his Strava data showing his pace, calories burned and other important information about the race.

Faulkner’s data showed that men’s gold medalist Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and fourth-placed Hungarian Atilla Valter overtook Faulkner on the 1.85-kilometer straight just before the finish line.

Evenepoel, who also took part in the men’s time trial, completed the distance in a record 2:11, with Faulkner just two seconds behind in 2:13.

Kristen Faulkner Wasn’t Afraid to Take Risks to Win Olympic Gold Medal

“If the risk is high and the reward is high, then it’s worth it,” Faulkner said of his race-winning move in the segment.

“Today was a great example. There were so many rewards to consider during the race. I had to be patient, I had to know when to be aggressive, I had to be patient and pull back at the right moments and then I had to know when to go all-in,” Faulkner said. “I think that’s something I learned from my finance days.”

The Alaska-born athlete rowed at Harvard before moving to New York and eventually Silicon Valley, where he took up cycling.

He currently rides professionally for the American team EF-Oatly-Cannondale, where he is having the best season of his career.

“It was a pretty fast-paced storm,” Faulkner said of the major changes in his life. “It happened pretty fast. I think even for my family who have been watching me go through this. First I quit my job, then I moved to Europe. Now I’m an Olympic champion.”