Kristen Faulkner (EF-Ortley-Cannondale) is making her second appearance in the Tour de France Femme as Olympic road race and team pursuit champion, but what she is most grateful for is her newly acquired gold band and gold detail bike, but just being healthy at the start of cycling's biggest race.

In her first appearance in the inaugural 2022 edition, she developed COVID-19 before the race and was unprepared, falling three times in the early stages and only finishing in the top 25 on one stage. After her success at the Giro d'Italia, it was a survival tour for the Alaskan athlete. Still, she made it to the top of La Super Planche des Belle Filles in 26:02 behind Annemiek van Fruten, the 2022 race winner and the day's stage winner.

The bad luck surrounding the race continued and got worse in 2023. The 2024 race would be a new beginning for Faulkner, who was hit by a car while training in California and missed his second Tour appearance.

"I'm excited to be healthy and ready to race. I've never raced before and it's the most iconic road race on the calendar," Faulkner told Cycling News in Rotterdam before his first international Grande Pearl.

"I'm really looking forward to it, and coming here and feeling good and healthy is what I've wanted since the Tour started." [In addition to his national titles and stage wins at the Giro and La Vuelta Femenina, he has won two Olympic gold medals, one in road racing and the other in team pursuit at the 2024 Paris Games.

Having trained specifically for the effort required for the 4km Team Pursuit, Faulkner is looking to return his focus to the road without the comparable pressure of winning a gold medal. But throughout the seven days and eight stages of the race, she is willing to accept any form.

"I've been focused on powering under five minutes. That's why I think I'm best suited to the course stages in the Tour, like the Ardennes and the Classics," Faulkner told reporters as she looks ahead to the fourth stage to Liège.

"I haven't ridden very long distances, but I have teammates who are good at sprinting, and I have teammates who are good at climbing.

She admitted that she won't be aiming for GC, but added, "If I have climbing legs, I'm not going to waste them. But I don't expect to be able to use my legs in the Olympic team pursuit." [Faulkner, who did not celebrate on the finish line in Paris after shocking a star-studded field of Marianne Vos (Netherlands), Lotte Kopecky (Belgium), and Blanka Vas (Hungary) to win gold, recognized she had won, but almost He admitted that it felt like a dream.

"I said I would be happy to leave the Olympics with one medal of any color. So two gold medals is way beyond my expectations," Faulkner said. Asked if he was still feeling it, he replied, "No, not yet."

"When I finished the road race and crossed the finish line, my first thought was, 'I have to keep spinning, I have a race in two days.' So I immediately went back into race mode for Team Pursuit. And as soon as that was over, I focused on the media and the Tour de France. So I think after the Tour de France Femmes I can relax and take this to heart for the first time."

Faulkner recalled with surprise the strange moment when he crossed the line at Pont d'Aiena without raising his arms.

"I knew I had won. But it was so overwhelming. I think it took me a little while to think, 'Is this real? I had so many emotions in that moment," the American rider said.

"It gave me a lot of confidence in my current form and fitness. It's for myself and for my teammates. I have a lot of confidence in my form and I'm in a really good mental state.

Whatever happens next, 2024 will be a very successful year for Faulkner. A stage win in the Tour is the cherry on the cake, and given her rapid progress this summer, it would not be surprising to see the Olympic champion finish a Grand Tour.

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