Paris Olympics: Faulkner golden, Arctic Race of Norway stage 1

 

Kristen Faulkner was a late addition to the team. USA Cycling had two spots already secured for the road cycling events, for Taylor Knibb and Chloe Dygert. But early July, Knibb resigned from the road race to focus on the triathlon, opening the door for Faulkner to race.

The 31-year-old launched a counterattack, riding away from the top three riders (Vos, Kopecky and Vas) in the race. It's the first win for the U.S. in the this event in four decades since Connie Carpenter-Phinney took home gold in 1984.

"I knew I had to attack them as soon as we caught them. I knew they were sprinter. But I knew they didn't want to work together - they were from three different countries. I knew if I got a small gap they would have to race for second. This is a dream come true. I'm still looking at that finish line sign wondering how my name got there."

-Kristen Faulkner is a late bloomer in the sport. She did not start cycling until 2016, but she has put her stamp through three Grand Tour stages in the last two years.

Final results

Close finish: Marianne Vos (Silver), Lotte Kopecky (Bronze), Blanka Vas (4th)

Over at the Arctic Race of Norway…

“It is always important to be good on home soil. We had a lot of pressure. We started with a really strong team, so to win on the first stage put a bit of the pressure away. But still we want to aim for the GC. For the climbers they still have big pressure.”

-Alexander Kristoff. The 37-year-old sprinter finished it off on stage 1 into Rognan.