New Olympic road race champion Kristen Faulkner will compete in the Tour de France femme, which opens Monday in Rotterdam.EF-Autrey-Cannondale announced a team of seven riders on Wednesday, with fellow Olympians Allison Jackson, Noemi Lueg, and Kim Kaczow, as well as Lotta Hentala, Magdelaine Valliere, and Clara Edmond.

Faulkner will compete in the women's team pursuit on Wednesday as the final event of the Paris Olympics.

"The Olympic road race showed me that my form is really good, probably the best it has ever been," Faulkner said in a press release.

"I want to go into the Tour de France femme in this form and try to win a stage. I've won stages in the Vuelta and the Giro, so I want to cross the Tour off my list yet. I'm also looking forward to supporting my teammates. I haven't raced with my EF Autoly-Cannondale teammates since June because I've been so focused on the track and preparing for the Olympics. I'm really looking forward to seeing them again. It's been too long."

Faulkner had bad luck at the Tour de France Femme, suffering two crashes on the opening stage in 2022 and a knee injury in 2023 when he was hit by a driver a few weeks before the Tour and was unable to race.

The 22-year-old Kassow is having a strong season, finishing in the top 10 overall at the Tour de Suisse and the Vuelta a España Femenina, and winning the UCI 2.2 Trofeo Ponente in Rosa in March.

"My goal is to immerse myself in racing," Kassow said. I want to enjoy this experience and support the team as much as I can." I expect the team to put in a great performance. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Tour atmosphere is like! It's cycling's premier event, so how can you not be excited?"

Because of the Olympics, the Tour de France Femme will begin with three stages in the Netherlands, including a short 6.3 km individual time trial on stage 3, before moving on to Belgium and finishing in Liège.

Valliere will be competing in his third Tour and is looking forward to stage 4.

"It fits our team very well. It's similar to Liège-Bastonge-Liège, and Kim's breakaway went well. I think this team is very strong. We have a lot of riders who can do well on this stage."

The race will eventually arrive in France on stage 5, with three of the most difficult stages in Tour de France women's history, including the huge climb of Le Grand Bornand on stage 7 and the grand finale at L'Alpe d'Huez on the final day.

"If we stick together as a team, we can achieve great results on most of the stages, not just this one. It's special that the final stage will be in Alpe d'Huez. It will be a special Tour," said Vallières.

"I'm aiming for a stage win. I can't wait to check Alpe d'Huez off my bucket list," said Jackson, who is competing in his second Grand Tour.

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